“Is there a place for me?” asked one anxious third grader as she sought to settle in for a group photo. Her compatriots from five local elementary schools jostled and slid sideways to make room, another example of the collaborative effort of kids coming together to donate socks for homeless people.
October as Socktober was started by local county organizations, including police departments, for the Bennington County Coalition for the Homeless (BCCH). The Manchester Police Department joined the effort in 2023 and this Socktober recruited help from The Dorset School, Sunderland Elementary School, Mettawee Community School, Manchester Elementary Middle School (MEMS), and Maple Street School.
“We started two years ago with just MEMS and Dorset,” explained a Manchester Police Department spokesman. “This year with the extra schools we should comfortably make our goal. You might say our local program is growing legs and we need more socks.”
Socks happen to be the most requested, but least donated item at local homeless shelters. To warm cold feet and keep them dry, the students gathered sock contributions at their respective school and on October 29th delivered pairs and pairs and pairs to the Manchester Police Department.
As a reward for their volunteer work, the 80 young contributors got a tour of the Manchester Police Department. They did an up close inspection of a police cruiser and met Moose, a four-year-old black Labrador retriever, an enthusiastic member of the local law, with a special nose for the job.
(Photo above: Students from five local schools gathered sock contributions and on October 29th delivered a small mountain of pairs and pairs to the Manchester Police Department.)
The students eagerly reach out to pet Moose, a four-year-old police black Labrador retriever with a special nose for the job.
The elementary students dropped off socks into a box for delivery to the Bennington County Coalition for the Homeless.
As a reward for their volunteer work, the young sock contributors got a tour of the Manchester Police Department, including an up close inspection of a police cruiser.