HANES SOCK DRIVE 2021

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This past spring / summer, With Actions and In Truth, Inc. renewed its 2020 partnership with HanesBrands, Inc. for the latter’s 2021 sock drive. This time around we received 2,500 pairs of men’s and women’s socks and 3,000 masks to support those who are homeless or facing housing insecurity. I was initially reluctant to accept the offer of the masks, particularly that large amount. Covid cases were down, New York City was beginning to “open back up,” and there was a sense that the coronavirus pandemic was coming to an end. I was not sure there would be much of a demand for them. Fortunately, I did accept the masks, and they were distributed with relative ease.

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It was only recently that we resumed feeding the homeless; having been shut down from early-March 2020 to mid-April 2021 due to coronavirus. Thus, for 2021 we were able to give socks to individuals living on the streets, and were not restricted to family and men’s shelters. We took socks and masks when we did our food distributions on weekends, and rarely did we come back with anything. There was more of a demand for the socks than for the food. When you’re walking along 8th Avenue in New York City and see someone wrapping his feet in newspaper because he has no socks or shoes … Well, we were glad to be able to put a small dent in the problem.

 

We reached out to a couple of the local shelters where we distributed socks last fall, namely J-CAP (Jamaica, NY) and their Recreation Specialist, Ray Perez, who immediately remembered us. I told him we had a second round of socks and masks. They accepted little over 200 pairs of men’s socks and 150 masks.

 

 

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Next up was the Springfield Gardens Family Inn. We had distributed sandwich packages at this family shelter since the fall of 2015. Due to covid restrictions, they were not allowing outside entities to bring in food, but would accept socks. We left them with 300 pairs of women’s socks and 250 masks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was glad to get back in touch with the Briarwood Family Residence, a family shelter where we used to do sandwich package distributions once a month back in 2016 and 2017. As is the case with Springfield, most of the residents at this facility are women and children. I was extremely, extremely thankful to have received as many women’s socks as we did this time, as one shelter had completely wiped me out last fall. We were able to deliver 400 pairs of women’s socks, 150 pairs of men’s socks, and a case of 500 masks to the Briarwood facility that still has a place in my heart.

 

 

Alfredo “Freddy” Matthews, the Assistant Vice President at Acacia Network, a community-based organization with ties in Queens, was very instrumental in putting us in touch with some Jamaica, Queens-based hotels-turned-shelters, whose residents were in need of socks and masks. Among them were the Holiday Inn-Brookville men’s shelter near the borderline of Jamaica / Lawrence, the JFK Holiday Inn men’s shelter near the airport, and the Best Western women’s shelter down the block from the JFK Holiday Inn. Among the three facilities, we delivered over 400 pairs of men’s socks, 400 pairs of women’s socks and 1,000 masks. Due to covid restrictions, we left the packages with the respective supervisors and / or program directors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Having done so privately, I would again like to publicly thank HanesBrands, Inc. for the honor to partner with them a second time for their 2021 Hanes Sock Drive. I eagerly look forward to partnering with them again in 2022.

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Marc Taylor

November 12, 2021