ROCK HILL, S.C. — For people who are homeless or living on the street, access to adequate footwear is rare. In many cases, they wear ill-fitting shoes and go for long periods of time without being able to change their socks or take off their shoes. They walk often, which can wear holes in their socks. Blisters or even frostbite are threats to them.
It's for those reasons that access to clean socks is often a request at homeless shelters.
Keeping that in mind, staff and students at Independence Elementary School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, decided to organize an annual Turkey Sock Trot in 2021. This year, led by principal Kimberly Odom, all grade levels participated, giving her students a chance to help the homeless while having fun by either walking or running a mile around the track.
The trot started at 10:45 a.m. on Monday. The object was to collect new socks for the homeless population. Hundreds of students donated at least one pair of socks and then took their turn on the quarter-mile track. Many students made it a point to run or walk longer than the initial mile, all with smiles on their faces and filled with energy.
Those yards run taught the students about how healthy feet are key to mobility and are part of human dignity.
As the last students finished their trot around 1:30 p.m., several students told WCNC Charlotte's Larry Sprinkle how important it is to give back to the community.
Odom said more than 1,000 pairs of socks were collected for those in need in the Rock Hill/York County area.
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