MOUNT FOREST – A joint sock drive between St. Mary’s Catholic School and Victoria Cross Public School has collected over 1,200 socks for the Mount Forest Christmas Bureau.
The drive took place from Nov. 5 to 23 and involved over 640 students, their families and some school staff.
“The kids felt really good about bringing in socks; they know that they are going to keep someone’s feet warm on Christmas morning because they brought in socks,” said St. Mary’s early childhood educator Shelley Weber.
Also a volunteer for the Mount Forest Christmas Bureau, Weber initiated the drive after fellow staff members at the school voiced an interest in donating to the Christmas Bureau.
“I said the biggest need we always have is socks, so I said, ‘I don’t know if we can come up with a sock drive and even see if [Victoria Cross] public school wants to get involved,’” she said.
Nobody suspected the drive would be so successful.
“The sock pile kept climbing and we couldn’t believe we ended up with over 1,200,” said Weber. The drive was so successful organizers from both schools are looking at making it an annual event.
All of the 1,200-plus socks were donated to the Christmas Bureau on Dec. 11 and 12. Christmas Bureau volunteers will sort them into hampers that will be delivered to families in need starting on Dec. 21.
