All you need is LOVE and…SOCKS! February 14th is a special day and not just for your Valentine! The Joy of Sox® has been working with many states to designate February 14th as “Socks for The Homeless Day.” In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and North Dakota, there are official proclamations passed and our goal is to have every state …
Posted: June 2, 2022 by TomCostelloJr
Why New Socks for those Experiencing Homelessness
So, why do those experiencing homelessness need new socks? Don’t those individuals living on the streets get donations of clothing at churches, soup kitchens and community centers? Yes, they do get some articles of clothing. But if you were asked what do you do with your old clothes when they wear our, or go out …
Posted: October 4, 2021 by Nancy Costello
The Joy of Sox Distributed Over 600,000 Pairs of New Socks for Those Experiencing Homelessness
The most recent sock metrics for The Joy of Sox® show that they have distributed over 611,000 pairs of new socks to those experiencing homelessness. Some fun facts are: Facilities in how many states have received new socks? They have distributed new socks to facilities in 35 states, plus D.C. Over 273 locations have been …
Posted: February 6, 2021 by Nancy Costello
All you need is LOVE…and SOCKS!
All you need is LOVE and…SOCKS! February 14th is a special day and not just for your Valentine! The Joy of Sox® has been working with many states to designate February 14th as “Socks for The Homeless Day.” In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and North Dakota, there are official proclamations passed and our goal is to have every state …
Posted: November 9, 2020 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of Sox holds a Successful Socktober Fest and 10th Year Celebration
The Joy of Sox® held a SOCKTOBER FEST and 10th Anniversary Celebration and would like to thank all of those involved in making it a super success. Because of the generosity of donors, they were able to raise: $11,347 and have 7,128+ pairs of new socks donated. Their all-volunteer team extends their heartfelt thanks to …
Posted: October 14, 2020 by TomCostelloJr
10th Anniversary Socktober Fest
We need your help! Imagine stepping into an icy puddle on a blustery day.What is the first thing you want to do?Take off those cold, soggy socks! The fact is, those experiencing homelessness do not have that option. Our mission is to provide JOY to those experiencing homelessness by giving them new socks, and we need your …
Posted: April 20, 2020 by TomCostelloJr
Happy Sock News Amidst The COVID-19 Crisis
Here are three socks things that should make you happy while we all wait out the COVID-19 virus. 429,325 As of March 20, 2020, The Joy of Sox has distributed 429,325 pairs of new socks to those experiencing homelessness. That’s pretty amazing and should put a smile of satisfaction on all who support our mission. …
Posted: February 7, 2020 by TomCostelloJr
Cabrini University: Give Love Give Socks Give Hope
On Martin Luther King Day of Service, 45 people from Cabrini University, a local high school and community volunteers worked at The Joy of Sox’s warehouse in Phoenixville, PA sorting donated new socks and putting them into plastic bags for later distribution. By the end of the day they had over 19,000 pairs in bags …
Posted: December 24, 2019 by TomCostelloJr
Merry Christmas from The Joy of Sox
The Joy of Sox® is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of giving joy to those experiencing homelessness by giving them new socks. Their vision is to be the most effective sock charity in the United States, and to give every person experiencing homelessness in America six pairs of new socks every year. Founded in 2010 they have given over …
Posted: September 30, 2019 by TomCostelloJr
Joy of Sox founder has distributed 350,000 pairs of socks to the needy
The Philadlephia Inquirer published a story about The Joy of Sox and the fact they have distributed over 350,000 pairs of new socks to the needy. A link to the story is here. A link to a pdf of the story is here. The photo on the right shows Tom Costello Jr, Chief Sock Person, …
Posted: September 23, 2019 by TomCostelloJr
Homeless People Are Not Just in Big Cities – La Frontera Shelter, Laredo, TX
People experiencing homelessness are not just in cities. They are not just older people. They are not just one demographic. And they are almost everywhere: Philadelphia, Santa Barbara, Kansas City, Miami, and Washington D.C. They are even in places you may not think of – like the immigrant “shelters” that are being built along the …
Posted: September 15, 2019 by TomCostelloJr
Villanova Students Help The Joy of Sox
Stuffing envelopes, painting walls, putting together shelves and handwriting notes – what have these go to do with The Joy of Sox’s mission of providing joy to those experiencing homelessness by giving them new socks? It’s all about Villanova University giving back on their annual St Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. On Saturday September …
Posted: January 14, 2019 by TomCostelloJr
Harrington Middle School Sets WORLD RECORD for Socks Collected for the Homeless
When students from Thomas E. Harrington Middle School in Mt. Laurel NJ decided to do a service project for the less fortunate, little did they realize that they would be setting a WORLD RECORD for Most-Sock-Ever-Collected during a K-12 school sock drive – 5,633 pairs of new socks for those experiencing homelessness. When members of …
Posted: October 28, 2018 by TomCostelloJr
Socks for the Homeless at St. John’s Hospice
Helping others help others. That’s what The Joy of Sox® is great at doing. St John’s Hospice, established in 1963, is a facility in Philadelphia that provides meals, support and housing for men experiencing homelessness. St. John’s was created as an outreach ministry to serve and assist the poor and homeless in the community. They continue to …
Posted: October 21, 2018 by TomCostelloJr
Guidestar’s Platinum Level for The Joy of Sox
The Joy of Sox, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, that provides new socks to those experiencing homelessness earned the 2018 Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profile Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information. By sharing metrics that highlight progress The Joy of Sox is making toward its mission, the …
Posted: March 18, 2018 by TomCostelloJr
Peace and Justice with Socks
An observation by Tom Costello, Jr. Chief Sock Person & Founder The Joy of Sox Earl did not talk about politics, or tragedies. He wanted to talk about Villanova basketball. He wanted to talk about turning his life around, not getting high. And he wanted to talk about socks. I listened. On a cold March …
Posted: January 24, 2018 by TomCostelloJr
NJ Sen. Bateman’s “Socks for the Homeless Day” Resolution Passed by Committee
A resolution sponsored by Senator Kip Bateman designating February 14 of each year as “Socks for the Homeless Day” has been approved by the Senate Health, Human Services & Senior Citizens Committee. “Most of us take for granted having clean socks to wear every day,” said Bateman. “Homeless people don’t have that luxury. They know …
Posted: December 29, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of The Season with New Socks for the Homeless
The New World Group (NWG) is a remarkable marketing company. Not only do they excel in in positioning strategies and brand identity they also give back to the community. For 2017, The Joy of Sox (TJoS) – a nonprofit that gives new socks to the homeless – was the fortunate, and very grateful recipient of …
Posted: November 23, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
Santa Ana Homeless Get Hundreds of New Socks Thanks to a Villanova Intern for The Joy of Sox®
Santa Ana homeless get hundreds of new socks thanks to Joy of Sox intern and team of volunteers. Ken Steinhardt, of The Orange County (CA) REGISTER covered the sock pass out that Eliza Clark orchestrated. Eliza Clark of Newport Beach helped improve the comfort of homeless people in Santa Ana, Wednesday morning, Nov. 22, as …
Posted: October 23, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of Sox Earned 2017 TOP NONPROFIT Award From Great Nonprofits
The Joy of Sox® would like to extend a really special thanks to all of their fans, donors, interns, sock angels, volunteers, and board members who helped them earn this very prestigious award. The award is special because only a small percentage of nonprofits get the Top-Rated rating. According to the certificate: “Your community has …
Posted: September 30, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
One Million Warm Dry and Happy Toes Challenge for the Homeless™ by The Joy of Sox
One million is a BIG number…a really BIG number. But that’s the number of toes that the nonprofit The Joy of Sox® hopes to make warm, dry and happy as a result of a mailing campaign that was conducted on September 23rd at Villanova University as part of their annual St. Thomas of Villanova Day …
Posted: August 2, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
August 2017 Newsletter – The Joy Of Sox
The August 2017 newsletter for The Joy of Sox® has been published and features four short sections about how they are providing new socks for the homeless. The first section of “What’s Goin’ On” talks about their global impact – they recently handed out socks on the streets on London, UK. The next section talks …
Posted: July 12, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
New Storage Facility for The Joy of Sox
The Joy of Sox® recently consolidated all its inventory of new socks into one location in King of Prussia, PA. The nonprofit, who gives new socks to the homeless, needed the additional space to store their sock donations and the boxes of socks that volunteers put together ready for distribution to shelters. Tom Costello, Jr, …
Posted: April 26, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
Sock Emoji Adopted by The Joy of Sox
There are emoji for lots of thing like ⚾️ baseballs and🎈 balloons. And coming soon is an … emoji for SOCKS. So The Joy of Sox, as an Official Bronze Sponsor, adopted the Socks Emoji. The socks emoji is not officially released yet, but will be available on your favorite device this spring. According to …
Posted: April 13, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
Map of places The Joy of Sox has sent new socks for the homeless
What do London, UK, San Diego, CA, Charleston, SC, New York, NY, Bear, DE and Gambell, Alaska all have in common? They are all places that The Joy of Sox® have recently sent new socks for the homeless and needy! Clicking on the map will take you to their “map page” where you can see …
Posted: February 23, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
People Magazine’s PeopleNow Features The Joy of Sox’s Tom Costello Jr
People Magazine’s PeopleNow ran a human interest story for their hometown hero segment about Tom Costello Jr and The Joy of Sox. The story consisted of an article by Cathy Free and a short TV interview via Skype by PeopleNow host Andrea Boehlke. On the show Tom respondents to three questions from Andrea Why were …
Posted: January 26, 2017 by TomCostelloJr
Some Facts about New Socks for the Homeless
Why new socks for the homeless? If you were asked what do you do with your old clothes when they wear our, or go out of style, like most people you’d probably say you donate them. But what do you do with your old socks? Mmmm. You probably trash them because they have holes in …
Posted: November 1, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
Villanova University helps The Joy of Sox provide new socks for the homeless
For the 2016 St Thomas of Villanova Day of Service the university’s women’s field hockey team helped The Joy of Sox® with a special project (pictures below). The Joy of Sox is a nonprofit with the simple mission of providing joy to the homeless by giving them socks. They receive a lot of their donations …
Posted: October 31, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
Top Rated Nonprofit Award for The Joy of Sox
The Joy of Sox®, was just awarded TOP-RATED NONPROFIT for 2016 by GreatNonprofits!! “This is really awesome,” says Tom Costello Jr, founder and Chief Sock Person. He continues, “This would not be possible if it weren’t for our great volunteers and donors. They make it all possible – thanks so very much.” What Are the …
Posted: June 7, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
Improved website security – HTTPS and Green Lock
The Joy of Sox®, a nonprofit that provides new socks for the homeless, recently upgraded the security on its website. Their site, TheJoyOfSox.org, now has HTTPS and a GREEN padlock in the address bar! What does this mean and why does it matter? Simply, it means the website is encrypted and secure. That protects any …
Posted: March 21, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of Sox received GuideStar’s Gold Participation level
This is really a great thing! Today The Joy of Sox received the GuideStar Exchange’s Gold Participant level, a leading symbol of transparency and accountability provided by GuideStar USA, Inc, the premier source of nonprofit information. This level demonstrates The Joy of Sox’s deep commitment to nonprofit transparency and accountability. We have worked hard to showcase our …
Posted: March 5, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of Sox and JeffHOPE at Our Brothers Place
The mission of The Joy of Sox is to give joy to the homeless by giving them new socks. On Thursday March 3rd Tom Costello, Jr, founder and Chief Sock Person, made another deliver of new socks to Our Brother’s Place (OBP), a homeless shelter in Philadelphia. Lou Baldwin (writer) and Sarah Webb (photographer) from …
Posted: January 6, 2016 by TomCostelloJr
Socks for Needle Exchange Program for Homeless and Needy
What a way to start the New Year! The Joy of Sox®, a nonprofit that gives joy to the homeless by giving them new socks, donated 1,916 pairs of new socks on January 2nd to Prevention Point and JeffHOPE. Prevention Point is a wonderful organization that among other things runs a needle exchange program for …
Posted: December 23, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Year end metrics
Since the mission of The Joy of Sox is to give joy to the homeless by giving them new socks I thought I’d share some of the metrics involved in doing this. 162,393 – Pairs of new socks given to the homeless 40,001 – Pairs of new socks donated this year 1,832 – People who …
Posted: December 8, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Want to really help the homeless this holiday season? Donate new socks!
Want to really help the homeless this holiday season? Donate new socks! They’re among the most needed items at shelters. This is a very nice article by Michelle Woo of Reddit’s Upvoted. Thanks so much Michelle! “Being without socks, especially during the cold and wet season, can lead to all sorts of foot ailments: blisters, …
Posted: November 17, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Sometimes socks can be more important than food
This is true. There are many soup kitchen and food pantries available of those on the streets. But there are no place to get new socks. That’s the niche we fill. Kiwi says it best… “Hello, my name is Kiwi, and you don’t realize it, but sometimes socks can be more important than bringing people food because …
Posted: November 13, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Map of places The Joy of Sox has sent new socks for the homeless
We just published a map of the places The Joy of Sox has sent new socks for the homeless. This is a new tool for us and we realize that it may not be completely accurate. So if you seen any errors or omissions please contact us. And of course, if you have any comments …
Posted: October 28, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
The Joy of Sox Honored as Top-Rated by GreatNonprofits
This is really awesome!! And a very special thanks to all our board members, donors, volunteers and clients who helped make this possible. The Joy of Sox® Honored as 2015 TOP-RATED Nonprofit By GreatNonprofits.org The Award is Based on Positive Online Reviews The Joy of Sox has been honored with a prestigious 2105 Top-Rated Award …
Posted: August 30, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Sock Drive Season is Here (new socks for the homeless)
SOCK DRIVE SEASON is here (actually the homeless need new socks year round). In a survey The Joy of Sox® conducted in Denver they found that new socks are the number one item asked for at shelters. And since they they walk everyplace and tend to wear them 24/7 socks on homeless feet wear out very …
Posted: August 11, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Socks for the Homeless sent to Oklahoma and Florida by The Joy of Sox
Oklahoma and Florida. The Joy of Sox just shipped new socks for the homeless to Oklahoma and Florida. This distribution was a result of the exposure they received on Fox & Friends recently. To date, The Joy of Sox has supplied new socks to 3 countries and 26 states (plus two additional real soon), plus …
Posted: July 24, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
JeffHOPE and The Joy of Sox – a partnership helping the homeless
JeffHOPE and The Joy of Sox – a partnership helping the homeless Since two vital things the homeless need are medical care and new socks the partnership of JeffHOPE and The Joy of Sox really makes a positive impact the population they both serve. JeffHOPE is a volunteer program of medical students at the Sydney …
Posted: July 14, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Fox & Friends and The Joy of Sox
WOW! Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Fox & Friends did a super job with the Erin Bertel and The Joy of Sox® story (Friday July 10 8:20 am). The emotional video clip shows the story of Erin and what happened when she discovered that the homeless need a vital item that they hardly ever get – new socks. …
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Posted: June 2, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Ten facts about socks, feet and homelessness
We are very grateful to Jennifer J. Spector, DPM, FACFAS (Cafengiu Podiatry and Sports Medicine, Marlton, NJ) for providing us with this feet and socks fact list. It was originally written for The Joy Of Sox® to highlight the need for new socks for the homeless, but Jen’s advice really applies to everyone’s feet! …
Posted: May 20, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
150,483 pairs of new socks for the homeless by The Joy of Sox
150,483. That’s the amazing number of pairs of new socks that The Joy of Sox® has donated to the homeless and needy in the past four years. So a very special thanks TO all our sock angels and benefactors out there! This could not have been done without you! And, a very special thanks FROM …
Posted: March 10, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Meet Erin Bertel
I’d like you to meet our Chief Sock Angel – Erin Bertel. Now I’m not a big fan of listing accomplishments like items on a résumé, but in Erin’s case it might be the only way to do her justice. So, since last summer she has … • Acted as coordinator and spokesperson for The …
Posted: February 8, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
North Dakota Proclamation Socks for the Homeless Day February 14
North Dakota Governor, Jack Dalrymple, signed a Proclamation that February 14, 2105 (Valentine’s Day) is Socks For The Homeless Day in North Dakota. The proclamation notes that North Dakota’s homeless population nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013 and that all donations of clothing to organizations assisting the homeless are desperately needed and appreciated. But new …
Posted: January 22, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
Sock Sorting for MLK Day of Service at Cabrini College
5,804 pairs of new socks for the homeless were sorted and packed by students of Cabrini College, Radnor, PA for The Joy of Sox. It was a great event as about 20 students separated thousands of pairs of purchased and donated socks into piles for men, women and children. They then assembled cardboard boxes and …
Posted: January 19, 2015 by TomCostelloJr
FAQ About New Socks for the Homeless
Since we frequently get questions about new socks for the homeless we decided to include our handout here. Click on this link to view/print “FAQ About New Socks for the Homeless.”
Posted: November 11, 2014 by TomCostelloJr
Shopping on Amazon can support The Joy of Sox
Imagine – whenever you buy almost anything on Amazon they automatically make a donation to The Joy of Sox! This is really cool – and a great way to support new socks for the homeless simply by shopping. Who knew that when you spend money, you can feel good because Amazon gives a portion of …
Posted: November 10, 2014 by TomCostelloJr
Socks can be more important than food (for the homeless)
Did you know that new socks can be more important than food for the homeless? Here’s a 2:25 audio clip of “Socks can be more important than food.” Tom Costello Jr, founder and Chief Sock Person, for the nonprofit The Joy of Sox gives three quick examples, and the impact, why new socks can …
Posted: November 4, 2014 by TomCostelloJr
2014 Top-Rated Nonprofit by Great Nonprofits
A really special thanks to all of our supporters and fans who helped us earn this very cool award. The award is special because only a small percentage of nonprofits get the Top-Rated rating. According to the certificate: “Your community has selected your organization as one of the 2014 Top-Rated Nonprofits using Great nonprofits. You …