HUGE sock sorting event at Main Line Health
The Birth of Joy The Sock Puppet™
Much thanks to Ward Vanhaute, Prop Master for the Villanova University Theater Department for his spectacular creation of a muppet-like Joy.
His ability to build a puppet better the puppet vison I had in my head was amazing.
This is the video of me meeting Joy for the first time. I was so excited I almost cried. But Joy has a serious job as National Spokes-Puppet.
Her job is to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and the foot health problems they have because they do not have new clean socks. Stay tuned for more on this serious issue.
Main Line Media News covers sock sorting event
Bob Breeser packages socks for the homeless for The Joy of Sox
Main Line Media News’s Alan Thomas stopped by at a recent sock sorting, pairing, packaging event. He talked to a lot of people and took a lot of pictures. And his story got published! Front page!
Click here to read the story.
Thanks Alan and all the volunteers who made the event possible!!
Radnor21′s Sam Strike interviews Tom Costello Jr
Sam Strike, host of Radnor21′s Radnor Patch, interviewed Tom about his nonprofit The Joy of Sox. Afterwards Tom said that the experience was great, although he doesn’t see any expectations of an oscar nomination.
He also thanked Sam, who made a personal donation of a bag of new socks. Thanks Sam!!
Website Back
The Joy of Sox - providing socks for the homeless
After a few days for frustration our website is back up. Not yet 100%, but almost there!
A big THANK YOU to all who helped get us back on line. But an even BIGGER thank you to our friends, volunteers and website viewers for your patience while we were offline!
Concept sketches for Joy The Sock Puppet
Click the Concept sketches for the new Joy The Sock Puppet to see a bigger image.
Which one do you like? Or don’t like?
We are getting ready to do a “complete makeover” for Joy The Sock Puppet, our Official Sock Puppet.
She plans to be our National Spokes Puppet for the plight of the homeless and the horrendous health problem they have because they do not have clean new socks.
The second prototype and current Joy The Sock Puppet
Part of her job is to go to places where sox drive are held and tell the story about homeless and socks.
She also wants to do a video with some more puppet friends and be on GMA. She definitely has some big ideas how to raise awareness.
So…we’d like you opinions, comments, thoughts and suggestions. Email Joy at Joy@TheJoyOfSox.org
Trademark received for The Joy Of Sox®
The Joy of Sox, providing socks for the homeless, received a trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The Joy of Sox® was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on July 16, 2011, registration number 3,997,348.
The registration means that the name “The Joy Of Sox” is now protected under U.S. patent and trademark laws from others using the same name.
The trademark is granted for: charitable services, namely, providing socks to needy persons,
This is really cool!!
Press Release: Former High School Dropouts Give Back By Holding Bar-B-Que for the Homeless…and Socks!
The Joy of Sox providing socks for the homeless
Contact: Tom Costello, Jr.
Phone: 610-688-3318
Email: Tom@TheJoyOfSox.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Former High School Dropouts Give Back By Holding
Bar-B-Que for the Homeless
YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School Students
Serving up Hot Dogs and…Sock!
PHILADELPHIA, PA-May 12, 2011 ” What motivates out-of-school youth in Philadelphia to go back to school to earn a diploma? And what also motivates them to hold an end of semester service project where they are hosting a bar-b-que for the homeless? A group of students at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School feel that, regardless of their situation, there is always room to help the less fortunate.
On Thursday, May 19, from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Sullivan Building on N. Broad Street, 25 students will serve lunch to approximately 50 homeless residents from different shelters in the city. The students will also distribute socks, with goodies inside them as a special treat for the guests.
The idea for this project actually came from the students, said Willa Deitch, Community Projects Coordinator at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School. Earlier in the year, Tom Costello Jr, from The Joy of Sox, spoke to students about how he helps the homeless by giving them much needed socks. He also brought two cases of sock ˜seconds” to be paired before they could be distributed. The students enjoyed the project and wanted to find a way to continue working with The Joy of Sox.â€
“It makes me feel like I’m really making a difference”, says Amika Miller, a YouthBuild student in the class. ”We want to remind people that we’re there to support them and each other.”
For more information about this event, please contact Kristen Forbriger at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School at (610) 585-4819 or Tom Costello, Jr. from The Joy of Sox at 610-745-1075.
(MORE)
About Youth Build Philadelphia Charter School
YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School is an innovative alternative education program offering a second chance for former high school dropouts, ages 18-21, to earn their high school diploma while learning vital job skills. The comprehensive curriculum at YouthBuild combines rigorous academics, vocational training, community service, and counseling to help students establish and achieve post-secondary education and career goals.
About The Joy of Sox
The Joy of Sox is a 501(c)(3) organization that has a simple mission: to provide socks for the homeless. They also strive to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and the health problems that can be mitigated by something as basic as a pair of new socks.
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Villanova Alumni Magazine runs story on The Joy of Sox (socks for the homeless)
The Villanova University ALumni Magazine did a feature story on Tom Costello Jr and The Joy of Sox in their 2011 Spring Service edition.
This is really humbling. My undergraduate alma mater, Villanova University included my nonprofit, The Joy of Sox, in their Spring 2011 issue on service.
What started out as an attempt to help out at a soup kitchen in Philly has really taken off. And I’d like to thanks Father Peter for the introduction, and Mercedes Ott and Shawn Proctor for producing and writing the piece.
With only a little over six months of actual operation we have already given out thousands of pairs of socks to the homeless and needy in and around Philly, plus eight states and Afghanistan. We have had schools conduct sock drives, strangers donate socks, donations appear in the mail and on Pay Pal, and volunteers show up out of almost nowhere. We even had a resolution passed in Harrisburg by the state senate declaring Valentine’s Day as “National Socks for the Homeless Day.”
I can’t wait to see what the next six months brings, as we continue to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless, and the health problems that can be mitigated by something a simple as a pair of socks.
A big Thank You from me, and an especially big thank you from all those who benefited from new socks!!
A homeless man on crutches
The other day a friend told me about a homeless man he knew, but hadn’t seen him in a while. When he saw the man again the man was using crutches. My friend asked, “What happened?” .
The homeless man went on to tell that he was walking around (as the homeless do to get from one place to another) and it was cold and rainy. His socks got soaked. But they were his only pair. So he wore them (cold wet socks) for many days.
His feet got infected with some sort of gangrene. He was fortunate not to have his toes amputated.
A pair of nice new socks could have prevented this.
What Is a Social Entrepreneur?
This is a little long…but hopefully worthwhile. From what I have observed in the passionate dedicated people I’ve met in the nonprofit world is a special “attitude.” I really couldn’t put my finger on it, until I came across this article entitled “What is a Social Entrepreneur?” So whether your mission is socks for the homeless, multiple sclerosis or juvenile diabetes I think this article really sums up the spirit of those involved in the nonprofit world.
What do you think?
What Is a Social Entrepreneur?
“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.” Read More
The Joy of Sox had an exhibit at Center on Central
The Joy of Sox's display at a Tom's Shoes, Day Without Shoes event held at The Center on Central in Paoli, PA. Britta Winans is on the left.
Isn’t collaboration great? Last week, to celebrate Tom’s Shoes, One Day Without Shoes awareness day, we set up a display exhibit in The Center on Central, in Paoli, PA.
Britta Winans was on hand to talk about all the good work we do in helping provide socks for the homeless. She even developed a PowerPoint presentation that shows our reach and the number of people we have helped.
During the event a few people asked how they can get involved in helping provide socks for the homeless. Based on the level of interest we will probably have two more opportunities to conduct sock drives in local schools!
Sock pairing party at Shir Ami Congregation nets 853 pairs for the homeless
Sock sorting event at Shir Ami Congregation netted 853 pairs of socks for the homeless and The Joy of Sox. From L to R Rachel, Gail and Holly.
Tonight we had a really nice event – a sock sorting party at the Shir Ami Congregation in Newtown, PA. The event was organized by Gail Rose, and among the adult helpers that agreed to be photographed, were Rachel and Holly.
The amazing thing was that 18 or so “energetic” third graders, and a handful of 6th and 7th graders (plus a few Moms) were able to get so much accomplished in only a few hours.
Many thanks to the people of Shir Ami that came out to help. And it was a 7th grader who knew figured out that the homeless man in San Antonio who follows us on Facebook probably has access to a computer at a local public library.
What a great way to spend a Wednesday evening, and those socks are an initial part of our 1,200,000 Happy Toes Initiative – Philadelphia (more on that later).
Sock sorting event at Shir Ami Congregation netted 853 pairs of socks for the homeless and The Joy of Sox. From L to R: Rachel, Gail and Holly.
What does a hello mean for a homeless man? “You gave me dignity”
A pictures of Jesus and the homeless at St. John's Hospice, Philly
Yesterday afternoon I was in Philly delivering some socks. I was talking to Gerry at St. John’s Hospice and there was a homeless man, I believe his name was Nate, a few feet away.
Nate made eye contact with us. Gerry said hello and shook his hand. I said hi and also shook his hand. We chatted for a few minutes.
Nate said thanks for not looking through me, you gave me dignity.
The amazing power of just saying hello.
Socks for the homeless to Tucson, AZ
MANTucson. The Men's Accountability Network is a great ministry that provides food for the homeless..and now also socks.
The other day Wayne emailed me with a question about socks.
He runs MAN Tucson.org. It’s a city wide men’s ministry that he founded to help care for the homeless in Tucson, AZ. They are not a ministry of a single local church, instead they are a Men’s Accountability Network that serves all churches in the city of Tucson.
One of the great things Wayne does each week is to go to Costco and buy food to feed the homeless on the weekend.
So, while email is great, I called him up on Sunday and we talked for a long while. More on this later, but we will be sending a case of new socks to him next week.
We are also in the process of setting up a Sock Drawer of The Joy of Sox in Arizona.
Joy The Sock Puppet™, is our Official Spokes-Puppet
Joy The Sock Puppet is the official Spokes-Puppet for The Joy Of Sox - providing socks for the homeless.
This is really exciting news!! Joy the Sock Puppet™, is now the official Spokes-Puppet for The Joy of Sox.
She is excited about her role, but still a little shy because she does not have a voice yet.
But she is fearless. She is already working on a series of videos for YouTube talking about the plight of the homeless and the health problems of not having proper socks.
And she is thinking big. She whispered to me this morning that she really wants to do Good Morning America.
She also was mad at me for taking her picture before she did her hair!
Partnering with JeffHOPE
JeffHOPE and The Joy of Sox work together to provide socks for the homeless
JeffHOPE is a constellation of student-run free clinics run by Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. JeffHOPE passionately commits to treating the underserved men, women, and children of Philadelphia, embracing the values of kindness, equality, and excellence.
They accomplish this mission by providing free, quality care to all, through student-run clinics; educating their patients on their health and how to maintain it; advocating for improved patient care; and teaching each other to become stronger clinicians. They aim to empower these individuals to regain their footing and climb out of poverty.
The Joy of Sox is happy to help provide socks to the homeless and needy population they serve.
3,550 pairs of socks sorted for the homeless
Lots of bags of sorted socks waiting to be delivered to the homeless by The Joy of Sox.
On Sunday March 19, several volunteers helped organize and sort 3,550 pairs of socks for the homeless. These socks were recently collected from various school sock drives around the Philadelphia area.
The socks were sorted into bags of men’s, women’s and children’s socks. The children’s socks were sorted for ages 0 – 5 and 6 – 13.
The photo show some of the bags in our storage facility. Each bag contains between 36 and 52 pairs of nice new socks.
The bags will be delivered to facilities in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Chester County, PA in the next two weeks. Thanks to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s for supplying the bags.
And lots of thanks to our volunteers who spent part of their Saturday bagging socks!
Lots of kiddie socks for Interfaith Hospitality Network
Unfortunately there are children in dire need of socks, so here are some happy socks for them!
The Interfaith Hospitality Network Main Line, headquartered in Norristown, PA, unites people from different segments of the caring community to work collaboratively to alleviate the suffering of homeless families. And one of the things they needed, according to Sue Herchek White, Executive Director, was socks.
But not just any sock, they wanted socks for children up to age five. So last week The Joy of Socks delivered 250 pairs of colorful socks for the homeless children they serve.
There should now be 2,500 warm, happy toes.
Billy Mock Foundation to Match Socks for St. Thomas School Drive
The Billy Mock Foundation matched the number of socks collected by St. Thomas the Apostle School.
The Billy Mock Foundation is generously supporting The Joy of Sox in a great way.
On a previous post we said that St. Thomas The Apostle School in Glen Mills, PA is holding a sock drive this week. The sock drive will be to collect socks for homeless children. Well, the Billy Mock Foundation has agreed to match the number of socks that the students collect.
So this is really 2 for 1 event! Thank you so much Billy Mock Foundation. There will now be twice as many warm toes this winter!
