Stuff-a-Sock program takes kindness to the streets

Mahaffie Elementary School teacher Toni Cole knows that most people this time of year appreciate a thoughtful Christmas gift. That’s why for the past 10 years, Cole has organized the Stuff-a-Sock outreach activity at her Olathe school in conjunction with the nonprofit organization Uplift, which reaches out to homeless people in Kansas City.

Throughout December, Cole enlists the help of the more than 430 students at her school to stuff a pair of men’s tube socks with some of the essentials that a homeless person could use. Then, on the last day of school before winter break, a representative from Uplift comes to an all-school assembly, where Cole presents them with the socks so they can distribute them to people living on the streets.

Cole started the project with her fourth-grade students in 2005 by asking them a simple question.

“I asked them what would be something you would be sad to lose,” Cole said. “We came up with socks. So the first year we collected men’s tube socks and stuffed them with candles, can openers and ChapStick.”

That first year, Cole donated 76 pairs of socks to Uplift. This year, she plans on handing more than 500 pairs of stuffed socks at the assembly. After that first year, Cole expanded the Stuff-a-Sock program to the entire school. Now, it’s become something of a tradition.

“Other people from school loved what was going on, so I educated the staff as to what I was doing and honestly it became an artifact of the school,” Cole said. “Anytime I have suggested taking if off the table, they always say no.”

Every November, Cole starts working with classroom teachers to contact parents about providing donations of socks and other items. Then, she has every student take time out of their day to stuff one pair of socks with things like candles and canned tuna, soup and beans. The kids even include some candy and a handwritten note.

Cole said the kids love filling the socks every year and know that they are helping others.

“The younger kids understand that they are giving to someone in need,” Cole said. “And as the kids get older, they really start to realize the ramifications of being on the street and what happens when it’s cold or they get sick and they start to connect to basic needs.”

Meeting the basic needs of homeless people has been the work of Uplift since 1990. Kathy Dean is its volunteer coordinator. Three nights a week, Uplift sends three trucks out to deliver hot meals to more than 200 people living on the streets in Kansas City. These are people who don’t live in a shelter. Dean herself drives one of the trucks and sees firsthand how important the yearly Stuff-a-Sock delivery is.

Dean and her crew from Uplift usually deliver the socks to the homeless the week of Christmas. She said her friends on the street always ask about the socks.

“They so look forward to it,” Dean said. “They are homeless but they are human and everyone is excited to get a Christmas present and it means the world to them.”

Part of the reason that Cole has championed the Stuff-a-Sock program at her school is that she knows how important the little things people take for granted are to someone on the street. Cole has been involved with Uplift as a volunteer for 15 years. She spent several years cooking meals and delivering them.

Through her past work on the front lines of feeding the homeless, she has realized that even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference. It’s a lesson that she feels is not lost on the students at her school as they find some small way to help those less fortunate.

“I think it’s making them more compassionate, empathetic and more aware,” Cole said. “It lets them understand that kindness matter and thoughtfulness matters.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Stuff-a-Sock program takes kindness to the streets."