Connecticut Secretary of State Public Service Award

Stamford Students Bring Warmth To New Covenant House With Gift Of Socks

Turn of River Middle School students donate 500 pairs of socks to New Covenant House of Hospitality Friday. From left are: John Gutman from New Covenant, students Mason Perkins and Hannah Nekritz, and Betsy Lopez, from New Covenant. Photo Credit: Frank MacEachern

STAMFORD, Conn. -- For the second year in a row, students at Turn of River Middle School in Stamford have donated hundreds of pairs of new socks to a facility known for serving meals to those in need. The students gathered about 500 pairs of socks, and they were delivered Friday afternoon to the New Covenant House of Hospitality at 90 Fairfield Ave. Eighth-grader Mason Perkins, the driving force behind the sock collection, is the local representative for Sox Warm Hearts, a national community outreach program that aims to give socks to those in need. She decided to forgo gifts on her 12th birthday last year and instead asked for socks that she could donate. The guidelines are simple, Perkins said. "We need brand new socks, kids, men, women's, as long as they are brand new," she said. She took the sock-giving idea to school, where it was adopted quickly. That result was 650 pairs of donated socks, which were given to New Covenant House last year from her birthday and from the school drive. This year, another drive was held in school, resulting in 500 pairs of socks. Fellow student Hannah Nekritz joined Perkins in making the donation Friday. "I just try to get involved in as much community service as possible," Nekritz said. "I think it's unique, so I like it." Betsy López, program coordinator at New Covenant, said the sock donation is a major one. "This is one of the biggest ones that we have," she said. "Most donations we do get are personal items like toiletries." New Covenant tends not to take donations of clothing such as jackets and other bulkier items because of a lack of storage space, Lopez said. They do take smaller items such as gloves, scarves and socks. "The main thing we do is food so this is an extra bonus for our guests, especially now with the cold that we are having," she said. "This is an extra treat for them." The facility is located in the rear of the Yerwood Center at 90 Fairfield Ave. but will be moving to its new 8,000-square-foot home at 174 Richmond Hill Ave. in the spring said New Covenant Executive Director John Gutman. The facility serves lunch and dinner daily, with about 100 people showing up for lunch and about 75 for dinner, Gutman said. New Covenant will be able to handle more clothing once it moves into its new space, he said

http://stamford.dailyvoice.com/schools/stamford-students-bring-warmth-new-covenant-house-gift-socks

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Sox Warm Hearts Comes to Stamford”

------- Stamford, CT, December 6, 2013

Understanding the importance, and satisfaction, of “giving back” is generally learned as adults. But in the case of two young women — on opposite US coasts — they are already well on their way to serving their communities through an outreach program called Sox Warm Hearts.

Sox Warm Hearts is a charity founded by McKenna Matranga, age 18, of Aliso Viejo, California. To date her charity has collected and distributed almost 6,000 pairs of socks to the needy in the United States, Mexico and Bolivia through an ambassador network across the United States. McKenna learned that socks are an item of clothing rarely donated, so addressing that important need was very timely and has been much appreciated.

When Mason Perkins of Stamford, CT learned about the vision of Sox Warm Hearts through Ambassador Diana David of Mt. Vernon, NY, she immediately took action! Instead of receiving birthday gifts for her twelfth birthday, Mason asked her guests to donate socks. She has collected over two hundred pairs of socks in just a few weeks, and will donate them to her community at the Stamford New Covenant House of Hospitality on Saturday, December 14. Additionally, Mason has initiated a sock drive at Turn of River Middle School with classrooms competing for socks donations. If the school reaches its goal of 1000 pairs of socks, they will earn a fun school pajama day! Mason plans to continue her participation in Sox Warm Hearts in a future community outreach program, including participating retailers.

Both McKenna and Mason have experienced the satisfaction of “giving back” and are inspirations to others who can join the Sox Warm Hearts team of ambassadors. For more information, visit www.soxwarmhearts.com or call (949) 457-1212.