BY ANNABELLE ROSA
From October 1 to October 31, CCHS’s very own Florida Future Educators of America (FFEA) will be collecting socks that students can drop off in bins found around the school. These socks will then be given to homeless shelters in the Broward County area.
FFEA is a club which seeks to expose students from CCHS to the teaching profession via school and community service. The program also allows members who have participated in the club for two years to pursue scholarships.
“This event is important for the school because it brings awareness to students about helping the homeless, which is usually a subject that is looked over,” FFEA President Kelly Buker said. “It’s a great baseline to set because the community always needs help and setting examples such as Socktober helps contribute while also raising awareness for our specific subject.”
Though it is a club initiative, Buker originally came up with the idea for the event. Buker felt that it would be a good idea to do it around this time of year in order to emphasize goodwill and giving back to the community. All socks acquired through the event will then be given to Broward Partnership.
Broward Partnership first opened on February 1, 1991, and has since served over 23,000 individuals who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. They provide a 230-bed, short-term housing facility as well as a number of community-based, permanent housing options. The purpose of the Partnership is to find solutions to prevent or reduce homelessness within Broward County.
“This event is important for the school because it brings awareness to students about helping the homeless, which is usually a subject that is looked over.”
The agency has won best practice awards from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also recognized the partnership as one of 400 best projects in the nation serving homelessness.
When you first open the Partnership’s website, there is a “wish list” of items that they have created for anyone who would like to donate items for the residents of their temporary and permanent housing units. On this list are the following items:
- Unexpired canned and dried food
- Personal hygiene items for adults and children
- Shampoos, soaps, lotions, toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant
- Good quality professional clothing and shoes for men and women
- Infant and children’s clothing
- Diapers and unopened infant formula
- New underwear and socks for adults and children
“We really want to just provide– obviously– socks,” club sponsor Deborah Covart said. “Socks and underwear are one of the least donated items to shelters. A lot of time people send in things like their clothes, which are great, but homeless people– just like other people– need comfy socks to wear with their shoes.”
The club will be collecting new socks for all people from infancy to adulthood. Students can find inexpensive sock options at anywhere from the Dollar Tree to Target, where a set of white socks can be found for anywhere from $8 to $14. You might also find other options at Walmart or any other number of stores that sell clothing.
“The goal of Socktober is to help those in need even if it’s just as simple as donating socks,” Vice President of FFEA Careliz Gonzalez said. “The most insignificant accessory to us can make a huge difference in the lives of others.”
Photo by Kayla Florenco
