Sock Drive : For Our NYC NEIGHBORS
Winter is here. We’re seeking donations of NEW, CLEAN, WARM socks for New York City’s population of asylum seekers and those experiencing homelessness.
The Situation
This past September NYC’s main shelter system tended to 87,907 people, including 31,510 children. In addition, over the past 18 months, over 125,000 people seeking asylum have arrived to our city, including 40,000 children. Over 60,000 of these recently arrived asylum seekers are still in city care – and for many, this is their first winter in New York.
Because of their exposure to the elements and limited access to laundry facilities, socks are one of the top-requested items for those experiencing homelessness.
We’re seeking donations of new, clean, warm socks for all ages and genders. We have a goal of collecting 10,000 pairs by End of 2023. There are many ways you can help us with this effort, read below to learn more:
Who We Are
We are EV Loves NYC, which stands for East Village Loves NYC. We have love in our title and we are a pandemic-formed 501(c)3 non-profit which was formed to build bridges of support between NYC neighborhoods during the pandemic. We’ve delivered more that 410,000 hot healthy and nutritious meals to fellow New Yorkers through our 65 partner organizations.
It is through this existing network of partners and distribution points that we will be getting your donations of socks to those who need them over the coming months.
How You Can Help
- Donate pairs of new clean socks to any of the drop-off locations listed below.
- Organize a small sock-drive with a group of friends or at your place of work.
- Organize an a sock-party event.
- Become a drop-off location.
- Help spread the word about the drive.
- Yes, if you’d rather donate money, that’s okay too.
Drop-Off Locations
Drop off donations of new, clean, warm socks at any of these participating business.
** If you’d like to list your venue as a drop-off location, please coordinate with us by reaching out to [email protected]**
Sixth Street Community Center
638 E 6th St, New York, NY 10009
B-Cup Cafe
212 Ave B, New York, NY 10009
Mary O's Irish Pub
32 Ave A, New York, NY 10009
LA LA Laundry
180 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009
Partnering Organizations
We’re also excited to be partnering with other organizations in the effort to collect socks this season. Believe NYC and Project New Yorker.
Donate Money
Monetary donations are also welcome. If you’d like to specify that the donation only be used to purchase socks, please say so.
If you prefer Venmo, Please Venmo us @evloves-nyc
Organize Your Own Small Sock Drive
With an ambitious goal to gather 10,000 pairs of new, clean, warm socks by December 17th, we need to creatively scale this project quickly. You have your own network of friends, individuals, colleagues who might get enthusiastic about the chance to do something concrete and tangible to support those in need during this season.
In past sock drives, we had great success with individuals who reached out to a small group of friends, colleagues at work, or another team or group they were a part of to initiate a small drive. Some groups pooled money and made a large order of socks, others set a day that they would meet and all bring new socks.
You can get creative and have fun. If we have 100 individuals working in their network to gather 100 pairs of socks – that’s our goal of 10,000 pairs right there!
If you decide to organize your own small sock drive with friends, at work, or with your team – please let us know by sending us an email at [email protected]
Organize A Sock-Party Event
Another option is to organize a small event and invite guests to bring new pairs of socks as part of the party. Whether you feel like hosting a small get together at your local bar or pub, or if you have an already scheduled holiday party – requesting people bring new pairs of socks can add a bit of holiday vibes and a sense of collective giving.
If you have a more ambitious idea in mind, and you’d like to invite a larger community to a sock drive event – please reach out to us and we can coordinate and possibly announce the event to our network as well – [email protected]
Help Us Get the Word Out
We’re revving up this sock-drive quickly. And we could use your help getting the word out. Whether it’s a post on social media or just a word-of-mouth mention – you spreading the word about the need, the sock-drive, or our organization will help us reach those who are looking for a way to contribute toward the solution.