Philanthropy on Foot.  Give socks today!

For those on the street, feet matter. Here’s something you can do to show you care.

When you donate new socks to St. Anthony’s, you can help make life healthier and pain-free for homeless and low income folks in San Francisco.

Access to shoes and socks is often limited for homeless men and women living in shelters and on the street.

Blisters and infections are common conditions that can lead to more severe health issues.  Wet feet,  ill-fitting shoes, constant standing and diseases like diabetes take their toll.

The best way to prevent such conditions is to keep feet clean and dry—very difficult if you spend your days outside.

Here’s how you can help:

GET IT

We need 5,000 pairs of socks this year.
We’re asking all of San Francisco to get new socks to those who need them most.

Short on time? DONATE HERE and we’ll buy the socks.

Donate men’s socks, especially white athletic or outdoor socks. Socks need to be new.
Get a team together or you can donate individually.

SHARE IT

On our Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest

Share a sock story, a photo, or ask the Sock Diva a question on our Socks in the City Tumblr.

Take photos and video along the way and send them via email or Facebook as an invitation to friends, family, and coworkers to participate in the drive.

PLAY IT

Host a sock party
Have a competition
Sock bomb a colleague’s office
Organize a “sock mob”

BRING IT

Socks may be mailed or dropped off to:

Sock Diva @ St. Anthony Foundation
150 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco CA 94102
8:30-4:30 Mon. – Fri.

For questions, large donations, or to arrange to have a donation barrel delivered, e-mail us.

Thanks to St. Ignatius for their Socks of Love clothing drive. Socks and underwear are some of the most difficult clothing items for us to obtain for our guests. We really appreciate all the work St. Ignatius does for us, with their volunteer groups and their sock drive. It makes a huge difference in the lives of our guests.

We heard through Filipinas Magazine that YFPA hosted a sock drive benefiting St. Anthony Foundation of San Francisco. Thank you!

Times are hard and you have your own worries. But you know that things aren’t any easier for the people who come to St. Anthony Foundation for help.

We have some easy ways you can keep giving, or even give more, to buy food, clothing, and healthcare for your low-income neighbors. Here’s Easy Giving Number 4.

Do a Drive.

Organize your family, friends, social group, professional association, church or congregation to collect something the guests at St. Anthony’s need.

1. Do a clothing drive. St. Anthony’s clothing supply has run pretty low. We’re putting out the call for more clothes: washed, repaired, and ready to wear.

Bring them to the Free Clothing Program @ 101 8th Street and Mission.

See Ty Hilkert’s blog last week for a list of what we need and what we can’t take. (Or call at 415-592-2826 or email thilkert@stanthonysf.org.)

2. Do a sock drive. We’ve talked about a sock party in your home. Your guests bring $5 and a pair of socks for our guests. Try a sock drive without the party. There is no time of year we do not need them. There is no St. Anthony’s program that does not use them. We can provide boxes or bins or simply send signs for you to make your own collection bin.

3. Do a toiletries drive. New, unopened, any size:

Bring them to our offices @ 150 Golden Gate or to the Free Clothing Program @ 101 8th Street and Mission.

4. Assemble self-care bags. New, unopened, travel size only.

Put the bags in a shopping bag or box addressed to “Social Work Center.”

Bring them to 150 Golden Gate, between Jones and Leavenworth.

If people like you take simple steps like this, we really will get through the hard times together.

Last week, St. Anthony’s hosted it’s 2nd Annual Sock it to Poverty Party! Through the generous donations made by all of our partygoers, we managed to collect more than 150 pairs of socks that will soon be on the feet of many of our guests and clients. Congratulations goes to our own Jesse Aiton won the coveted Golden Sock Award for donating the most pairs!

Jesse was first introduced to St. Anthony’s through the Father Alfred Center after battling a lifetime of drug and alcohol addiction. While at the Father Alfred Center, he worked on his recovery and began building his future. Jesse was able to utilize the resources of the Technology Lab and worked on his resume, started job hunting, and practiced interview skills. He also decided to enroll in the Tech Lab’s A+ certification program which provides comprehensive training in desktop computer repair, maintenance and networking. Jesse has since graduated from the program and is working for a computer consulting firm downtown. He has been sober for more than 4 years. Now Jesse is one of our biggest cheerleaders and friend.

Many thanks to Jesse and everyone who supported St. Anthony’s last night and always. For those who didn’t have a chance to stop by the party, it’s not too late to donate socks to those in need! We are trying to collect 2200 pairs to include in Christmas gift bags to our wonderful guests. Stop by 150 Golden Gate and drop off your new socks!

AS UNEMPLOYMENT SOARS, MORE GO HUNGRY
ST. ANTHONY’S HOSTS 22ND ANNUAL CURBSIDE DRIVE TO HELP MEET THE NEED FOR SAN FRANCISCO

With the unemployment rate at its highest rate since 1983, organizations like St. Anthony’s have become critical in helping everyday people meeting their needs of basics such as food, warm clothing, and medical care.

To help meet the need, St. Anthony’s is preparing for its 22nd anniversary of St. Anthony’s Curbside Holiday Drive. St. Anthony Foundation staff and volunteers, wearing easily identifiable red jackets, will take delivery of food, clothing, and monetary donations at curbside, so donors won’t even have to leave their cars. Donated items are distributed free of charge to San Francisco’s most needy residents.

“We have 35% more people coming for emergency boxes and 60% more people coming to our clothing program than we did a year ago. And we continue to be amazed and heartened by the generosity of those with even a little extra stepping up to help meet the need,” noted St. Anthony Foundation Executive Director Linda Pasquinucci.

St. Anthony Foundation’s programs help heal individuals and families by providing a gateway for solutions to poverty, including a Dining Room which serves 2600 meals every day, a free clothing program, a technology lab,  residential drug and alcohol recovery program, and a free medical clinic. St. Anthony Foundation does not accept any federal, state, or local government money for its programs, and is entirely funded by private donations. (more…)

One of my favorite things in this life is pulling clean laundry out of the dryer, and slipping my cold feet into a pair of snug warm socks.  There’s really nothing quite like it.  Torrential downpour and chilly wind in the city’s dismal winter months makes the experience that much more rewarding.

As we prepare for the holidays, and gear up for what is traditionally the busiest time for St. Anthony’s, we take note of these items like socks that make a big difference in such a small low-cost way.

Imagine if instead of out of a drawer or dryer, the socks you were sliding on in the morning were the same wet ones you braved the rain in last night, and for the previous few days for that matter. Many of our homeless guests at St. Anthony’s are on their feet and perhaps don’t have a place to rest and recharge. A clean new pair of socks are not an accessory or afterthought, they are a piece of refuge and reenergizing that we can offer to make that day better.

You can be a part of that refuge, bring in clean new socks for guests at St. Anthony Foundation.  Or hold a drive with friends, coworkers or church groups and gather socks to bring in for our Curbside Donation Drive.

Why is it that so many people who come to St. Anthony’s to help end up thanking US? The folks from Interaction Associates worked a shift in the Dining Room toward the end of the month (always the most hectic time), thanked us profusely, and are coming back for more.

In many ways, it’s not a mystery. Most people like St. Anthony Foundation once they get in the door. That’s when they discover that all the talk about community at St. Anthony’s isn’t just talk.

And it helps that IA is in the people business. They train leaders in group process, facilitation, and collaborative cultures. Their workshops help companies build teams, grow leaders, navigate change, and increase corporate responsibility.

Three of their values on a list of 7 are “stakeholder voice,” “social responsibility,” and “human dignity.” This sounds familiar.

Interaction people intended to leave early for a team pot luck instead of the usual lunch with our guests, but when the time came, it was hard to get them out of the Dining Room. We had urged a short reflection session on them, very short, to accommodate their schedule, but they just kept, well, interacting.

They want to come back to make gift bags for Dining Room guests. They’ve already collected 200 pairs of new socks and 100 sets of unopened toiletries. We’re talking together about a possible fundraising event.

The email that explained all this to me ended “Once again, THANK YOU…THANK YOU…THANK YOU and we are very excited about helping out in the future.”

I’m not confused. I understand how it feels down there in the Dining Room. But this is my chance to say, “Thank you, friends, and thanks to Interaction Associates for taking the time.”

Last night we hosted our first annual “Sock It To Me” donation drive in our new LEED certified building on 150 Golden Gate Avenue.

Many stopped by to drop off new pairs of warm socks for San Francisco homeless during the winter month. Wine, spirits, appetizers and silly musical holiday chestnuts kept the night lively as we dressed the Christmas tree with pounds and pounds of pedestrian undergarments.

(more…)