Frankfort students hoped to collect socks for the homeless
They ended up with twice as many — and lesson in service
Students at Hickory Creek Middle School recently learned homeless shelters and charitable organizations across the country are seeing a huge increase in need due to the pandemic, and socks are one of the most requested and least donated items.
So the school’s Student Council decided to do something about it with some help from the Lions Club of Frankfort.
They held a sock drive aiming to collect 1,500 pairs. In the end, Hickory Creek staff and students and Lions Club members collected 3,124 pairs of socks for those in need.
“You’re an inspiration to all of us that you’re doing community service so young,” Principal Tricia Dotson told the Student Council.
She also invited Lions Club members to share with the students how they got involved with community service.
Lions member Louise Partee, who works at the Frankfort Township Food Pantry and drives seniors to the store, the doctor, and other appointments, said the pantry feeds over 400 families per month. She also spoke of a recent Lions Club coat drive in which they were hoping to receive 100 donated coats. The generosity of the community was overwhelming and the Lions Club received 775 coats, along with hats and gloves, she said.
“I became a Lions Club member because I live in the community, and I didn’t want to just live in the community — I wanted to be a part of the community,” she told the students.
Lions Club members also told of programs such as with Toys for Tots, the veteran’s food drive, and other initiatives, including buying handicapped vans for those in need, funding scholarships, and collecting eyeglasses and hearing aids.
Dotson said the school’s Student Council members are just starting their work.
“These are kids who want to be the base of Hickory Creek, who want to get their peers involved and to do great things like this,” she said. “It starts right now. You might be 12 or 13, but it starts here,” Dotson said.