Socks Project seeks donations, nominations for car giveaway

VANCOUVER -- There's nothing quite like a warm pair of new socks on a cold day.

Thanks to the efforts of the Victoria Cool Aid Society and more than two dozen other organizations around Vancouver Island, about 10,000 pairs of new socks will be going to those in need this winter.

"The Socks Project" has been going strong for 13 years, since Michael Bloomfield started it in 2007. It aims to help people who are homeless and living in poverty keep their feet warm and dry during the Island's cold, rainy winters.

"If you can imagine you're homeless, for a minute, you're spending a lot of time in your shoes, on your feet, waiting in lines, in the wet," said Alan Rycroft, community relations manager for the Victoria Cool Aid Society. "It's hard. It's really hard on the feet."

The socks will be handed out in Victoria, Duncan, Salt Spring Island and Nanaimo throughout the winter, and Rycroft said there are roughly 25 different organizations involved in the process.

"We're really covering the community well," he said.

This year, it's not just socks that the community groups are giving away. With the help of sponsors including King's Auto Sales, they're going to be giving away a free car.

"This is a first for us," said Rycroft. "It's kind of fun."

The refurbished 2004 Chevrolet Malibu is intended to help someone in the community who would benefit from having a car, but can't afford to buy one, Rycroft said.

"This isn't to anybody," he said. "This is to someone in need. Someone who would be able to keep the car running, but can't afford to maybe go and purchase a car."

Members of the public can nominate someone for the car, or donate to cover the cost of some of the 10,000 pairs of socks, on the Cool Aid Society's website. 

More than 112,000 pairs of socks have been given away as part of the Socks Project over the last 13 years.

"People in need - not just people who are homeless, but people who are living in extreme poverty also - are benefitting from a nice new pair of warm socks in the colder, wetter, windier weather," Rycroft said.