Students hope to donate 1,600 pairs of socks to be distributed to members of the community
BATTLE GROUND — Thanks to the efforts of two Battle Ground schools, 14,610 toes (and counting) will be properly covered this fall and winter. That’s because all of the fifth graders at Amboy Middle School and the kindergartners in Michelle Anderson’s class at Pleasant Valley Primary are collecting socks to donate locally as part of “Socktober,” a national movement intended to get kids and grownups alike to help their local communities in a fun, easy way.
So far, the two schools have collected 1,461 pairs of new socks, and they’re just halfway through the month-long drive. Amboy Middle School has already surpassed its goal of 600 pairs of socks, and Pleasant Valley is about 80 percent of the way towards reaching its goal of 1,000 pairs. Donated socks will be distributed through Battle Ground Public Schools’ Family and Community Resources Center, located at the CASEE center.
This is the second time that Michelle Anderson’s class has participated in the annual drive. The first time came while she was a teacher at River HomeLink, where her first and second grade students collected about 800 pairs of socks. This year, she decided to bring the drive to the Pleasant Valley campus, where her kindergarten class is collecting new pairs of socks with assistance from the middle school.
“The Socktober drive has been a wonderful experience,” Anderson said. “Not only do the socks go to local community members in need, but it also provides valuable lessons to students. Counting and pairing socks provides kindergarteners with math practice, while also presenting an opportunity to talk about what it means to be homeless and why it’s important to do something to help others.”
Teacher Erica Benge got all of Amboy Middle School’s fifth grade classes involved after her class watched Kid President’s “Spreading the Good” video on YouTube. After sharing the video with the other fifth grade classes, everyone agreed that they wanted to participate. To help generate interest and have a little extra fun kicking off the drive, Amboy’s fifth graders got creative with their own footwear for “crazy sock day” early in the month.
“Kids are learning that even seemingly little things like socks can mean so much, and that small acts of kindness really do make a difference,” Benge said. “Through this donation drive, we are trying to ‘spread the good,’ to learn empathy, and create a sense of community. It’s been uplifting to see how much the students and staff enjoy giving and caring about those in need.”
You may be asking yourself, “why socks?” Well, socks are one of the least donated items in homeless shelters, yet are among the most-needed items. Socktober was launched several years ago by “Kid President” creator Brad Montague to address this issue, and it’s really taken off. Last year, more than 10,000 schools, families, businesses, and churches rallied together to bring Socktober to life, and people from every state and continent have taken part in the drive since its inception.
Donated socks will be made available to local families and students in need through the district’s Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC). If you are interested in donating new socks or blankets as part of this drive, or are in need such items for yourself or your family, please contact the FCRC by calling (360) 885-5434 or emailing fcrc@battlegroundps.org.
Information provided by Battle Ground School District.
