West orange news feb 2017 final

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No. 15 Vol. 2

www.thewestorangenews.com

February 2017

Sock Collection Brings Joy Of Comfort To Thousands Of Soles

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By: J.L. Shively eter Sullivan and his friend, Luke Shea, were only looking for something to build their college resume. But when they discovered that socks are the number one most requested

clothing item for homeless shelters, Sullivan notes, their project “turned into something more.” “At our sophomore assembly we had a speaker named Michael Shea [no relation] and he gave a presentation that was very in-

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tense and eye opening about how he became homeless on purpose,” says Shea. “It made me think about homelessness and how I might be able to help in some way.” According to Sullivan, Shea’s mother had come across a video online about the importance of sock donations to homeless communities. “She told us in the car on the way to school, Luke and I thought it was a great idea,” Sullivan notes. The boys located a non-profit group called the Joy of Sox which was their inspiration for their project. In their research the boys found out why socks were such an important donation for the homeless. “When you think about it, it makes sense, the homeless rarely take off their shoes which lead to not taking off their socks for long periods of time,” explains Sullivan. On the Joy of Sox website, non-profit founder Tom Costello explains that his inspiration for founding the

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Pictured, from left, is Peter Sullivan, TJ Martynowicz, Connor Matteson and Luke Shea.”

group came from his work at a soup kitchen and some facts obtained from a podiatrist who had done work at the shelter. “The podiatrist said that the homeless rarely get donations of socks and have extensive foot problems due to the lack of clean socks.” This factor results in the problem that socks often are the first item to wear out. INSUR

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When a person already has a limited amount of clothing socks are often the first items to be worn and then discarded. With this information in mind, both Sullivan and Shea decided they wanted to become a part of a sock collection that would benefit the homeless. The thought of homeless people, especially in the

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winter, is what Shea notes as a huge motivating factor to start this drive. “They have nothing,” says Shea and even though a pair of socks is a small thing they mean a lot to the people who need them. Both students at Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, Sullivan and Shea began to plan their continued on page 2

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