Sock It To ’Em celebrates collecting 1M pairs of socks

Celebration held

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a crowded church room decorated with colorful balloons, Sue Lee and Phillis Shimamoto were met with a standing ovation, cheers and hugs as they celebrated ocially collecting one million pairs of socks through their nonpro t, Sock It To ’Em Sock Campaign.

“Tonight was a celebration for every single person who’s helped us over 10 years. And it is a community celebration because every single person has had their hand and their heart in this organization,” Shimamoto said.

Co-founded by Lee and Shimamoto, the Sock It To ’Em nonpro t collects and distributes new pairs of socks for people experiencing homelessness and those in need, such as low-income families, Marshall Fire victims and migrants who arrived in Denver in late 2022.

To commemorate the nonpro t reaching the milestone of collecting one million pairs of socks, families, businesses, nonpro ts, pageant queens, and mayors and city council members in Arapahoe County gathered Feb. 16 at the First Plymouth Congregational Church in Cherry Hills Village.

“ ese two incredible, amazing women started this organization with just a hope and a dream,” said Tammie Limoges, the nonpro t’s chief development and operations o cer. “And here we are.” e nonpro t’s roots go back more than a decade ago, when Lee and Shimamoto decided to gather and distribute socks to homeless shelters in January 2012. At each location they went to, they were told socks were one of the most requested items.

“And so we looked at each other, and I said, ‘We got to make this as big as we can,’” Lee said during her speech.

Among the crowded room of celebrants stood Lisa Maloney and Eileen Robinson, representatives of the nonpro t Clothes to Kids of Denver, which gives free clothing to students from low-income or incrisis families in the metro Denver area.

“Last year, we gave away more than 50,000 pairs of socks, and so Sock It To ’Em is a phenomenal source for all those socks,” said Robinson, a volunteer coordinator for the nonpro t.

Seeing the growth of Sock It To ’Em over the years is what Robinson calls “ant power.”

“‘Because when everybody does a little tiny bit, it adds up to a million socks — and it gives me chills,” she said. “We all pulled together and did this as a community.”

Sock It To ’Em collects socks in a variety of ways, including sock drives — which the cities of Centennial, Greenwood Village and Englewood recently held in each of their communities — as well as partnerships with businesses like Bombas, an apparel brand.

Isabelle Rios, a Bombas giving associate, said the company has been a partner of Sock It To ’Em since 2019 and looks forward to working together for many more years to come.

“In a little over four years, we