UPDATE: Thanks to your generosity we donated $750 AND donated 75 pairs of socks!
For the last five years, Mayor Siddiqui and Vice Mayor Mallon have organized a sock drive for CASPAR/Bay Cove. Mayor Siddiqui and Vice-Mayor Mallon started the sock drive in 2018 after witnessing firsthand the critical need for wool socks during their visit at the CASPAR/Bay Cove Shelter at 240 Albany Street. They hope to gather 2,500 pairs of wool socks this February. In an effort to support this initiative we are not only asking the community to donate directly to CASPAR but to also knit wool socks or purchase a pair (or two or more) of wool socks from a participating retailer. Yes, you can pick up your sock making materials from us (we have everything you need to knit or crochet a pair of socks) but for the first time, we are also stocking wool socks just for this drive. Made in a small, family-operated factory in Northern Italy, Lana Bambini, crafts wool and alpaca socks that are meant to be worn for years.
You can pre-order wool socks in a variety of weights and lengths here.
You can donate here.
And when you shop in-store and online every Wednesday in February we'll donate 5% of our sales to CASPAR as well.
"One pair of wool socks may seem like a small thing, but it's crucially important to a homeless neighbor living outdoors during the frigid winter months. And that one pair of socks is more than just a source of warmth," stated Julia W. Londergan, Esq., Director of Development at CASPAR. "Each pair of socks that a member of CASPAR's Street Outreach Team hands out can also be a lifeline – that initial connection with our staff that can lead a person into our shelter, where they can gain access to additional services and care, and hopefully get started on the path to safe and permanent housing. Knowing that our unhoused population has increased this year makes this effort even more necessary."
*Since launching the We Care Wednesday initiative in January 2017 we have donated over $57,905 to a variety of nonprofits and mutual aid funds doing essential work in our community as well as other places. From the Mayor's Disaster Fund to BAGLY to Movement Voter Project and Found In Translation. We select organizations that we feel represent not only our commitment to a better, more equitable world but also our desire to "do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."