WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Small gifts often have the most meaning.
For the millions of people living homeless, a clean pair of socks is often described as “the gift of humanity.” Hanes, America’s No. 1 basic apparel, underwear and sock brand, is partnering with organizations fighting homelessness nationwide to deliver comfort to those who need it most through the Hanes National Sock Drive. The brand is marking 10 years of helping provide care and compassion during this year’s drive by:
- Donating more than 250,000 pairs of socks directly to organizations fighting homelessness in all 50 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Since the program’s inception in 2009, Hanes has provided more than 3 million pairs of socks – one of the most requested items by relief agencies – to help the homeless.
- Giving an additional pair of socks for every order of any apparel placed in December on Hanes.com. Socks will be provided to local homeless shelters.
- Partnering with Rainier Fruit Company for its second “Pears for Pairs” campaign, which is currently running in United Supermarkets, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Lunds & Byerlys stores. From late September through January, Rainier is donating a portion of the proceeds from bulk and bagged pear sales to the Hanes National Sock Drive. In 2018, the Pears for Pairs campaign resulted in 20,000 pairs of socks being donated to five nonprofits.
- Offering consumers the opportunity to participate directly in the program by visiting www.hanes.com/donate to gift socks ($1), women’s underwear ($1), men’s underwear ($1.50) and bras ($6) that will be distributed in needed styles and sizes.
- Continuing its 10-year collaboration with Invisible People and its founder, Mark Horvath, to help raise awareness about homelessness. Invisible People uses innovative storytelling, educational resources and advocacy to help change how the public views homelessness and those living homeless in the United States and abroad.
“Most of us take basic apparel for granted, but we know a new, clean pair of socks can mean a lot to those experiencing homelessness,” said Sidney Falken, chief branding officer, HanesBrands. “We are committed to bringing a little comfort to those who need it most – and it is incredibly gratifying to have others, including many individuals across the country, join us in this effort.”
More than 100 agencies, including The Salvation Army Bell Shelter (Bell, California), Homeward Bound (Asheville, North Carolina) and Compassion Outreach Ministries (Columbus, Ohio), have received sock donations from Hanes.
“Small things really do make a big difference to our clients,” said Steve Lytle, director of The Salvation Army Bell Shelter. “The smile on a client’s face when she received a clean pair of socks for the first time in months was priceless. There was joy in her eyes and it was clear that the socks were the most precious gift she could have received in that moment. Another client said his gift of clean socks was a sign that there are people who care and that his life did matter.”
Homeward Bound distributes more than 2,000 pairs of socks a month to those living homeless.
“Homelessness is a community problem and it will take everyone’s support to help end the epidemic,” said Ashley Campbell, the agency’s outreach specialist. “Right now, some of your neighbors are living outside, in tents and under bridges, vulnerable to inclement weather and violence, stripped of dignity and our collective respect.
“There are so many ways to help,” Campbell continued. “Educate yourself about homelessness in your community, volunteer at your local agency fighting this issue or simply make a donation that would help a nonprofit save its limited resources.”
Jeffrey Tabor, director of TWO Men’s Ministry House for Compassion Outreach Ministries of Ohio, added that there is no donation too small to be used for good to fulfill a basic human need.
“Imagine the importance of just one pair of socks when you are focused on keeping your feet dry and warm during the cold winter months,” Tabor said. “That’s why we are so thankful for our partnership with Hanes, which has fulfilled an immediate, basic human need for so many people.”
Lytle underscores, however, that sometimes it all boils down to human contact. “Acknowledge people who are experiencing homelessness with a smile or hello,” he said. “By engaging with a person who is experiencing homelessness we are saying ‘I see you and you matter.’”
The Hanes National Sock Drive is part of Hanes for Good, the corporate responsibility program of Hanes’ parent company, HanesBrands (NYSE:HBI).
Organizations distributing Hanes socks include:
State |
City |
Organization |
Alabama |
Mobile |
Family Promise of Coastal Alabama |
Alaska |
Anchorage |
Brother Francis Shelter |
Arizona |
Phoenix |
Phoenix Rescue Mission |
Arkansas |
Fayetteville |
7Hills Center |
California |
Bell |
The Salvation Army Bell Shelter |
Hollywood |
Covenant House California |
|
Los Angeles |
East Los Angeles Women's Center - Hope & H.E.A.R.T Emergency Shelter |
|
Ktown for All |
||
Los Angeles Mission |
||
Street Symphony |
||
San Diego |
Father Joe's Village |
|
Santa Clara |
Bill Wilson Center |
|
Watsonville |
The Salvation Army |
|
Whittier |
Whittier Area Interfaith Council |
|
Colorado |
Denver |
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless |
Connecticut |
Ansonia |
Master's Table Community Meals |
Waterbury |
St. Vincent DePaul |
|
Delaware |
Dover |
The Salvation Army |
District of Columbia |
Washington, D.C. |
Covenant House Washington |
Miriam's Kitchen |
||
Florida |
DeLand |
God's Bathhouse |
Fort Lauderdale |
Covenant House Florida |
|
Jacksonville Beach |
Mission House |
|
Lakeland |
Talbot House Ministries |
|
Pensacola |
Alfred-Washburn Center |
|
Waterfront Rescue Mission |
||
Tampa |
The Salvation Army |
|
Georgia |
Atlanta |
Covenant House Georgia |
Crossroads Community Ministries |
||
Nicholas House |
||
Zaban Paradies Center |
||
Savannah |
Divine Rest Inc. |
|
Hawaii |
Hilo |
Hope Services Hawaii Inc. |
Idaho |
Boise |
Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter |
Illinois |
Chicago |
Covenant House Illinois |
Lawndale Christian Health Center |
||
The Night Ministry |
||
The Salvation Army |
||
Indiana |
Indianapolis |
Horizon House |
Wheeler Mission |
||
Iowa |
Council Bluffs |
MICHA House |
Iowa City |
Shelter House |
|
Kansas |
Topeka |
Topeka Rescue Mission |
Kentucky |
Louisville |
The Salvation Army |
Louisiana |
New Orleans |
UNITY of Greater New Orleans |
Maine |
Bangor |
Bangor Area Homeless Shelter |
Maryland |
Baltimore |
Agape House Inc. |
Baltimore Station |
||
Massachusetts |
Boston |
Pine Street Inn |
Michigan |
Detroit |
Covenant House Michigan |
Mount Clemens |
Turning Point |
|
Minnesota |
Minneapolis |
St. Stephen's Street Outreach |
Mississippi |
Vicksburg |
Warren County Children's Shelter |
Missouri |
St. Louis |
Students-in-Transition (St. Louis School Board) |
Montana |
Billings |
Montana Rescue Mission |
Nebraska |
Omaha |
Siena/Francis House |
Nevada |
Las Vegas |
Caridad Charity |
New Hampshire |
Concord |
Concord Coalition to End Homelessness |
Plymouth |
Bridge House Inc. |
|
New Jersey |
Freehold |
Destiny's Bridge |
Lawrenceville |
HomeFront |
|
Newark |
Covenant House New Jersey |
|
New Mexico |
Albuquerque |
Joy Junction |
New York |
New York |
Covenant House New York |
Midnight Run |
||
Syracuse |
Rescue Mission Alliance |
|
North Carolina |
Asheville |
Homeward Bound |
Charlotte |
Men's Shelter of Charlotte/Urban Ministry Center |
|
Thomasville |
Cooperative Community Ministry |
|
Winston-Salem |
Bethesda Center |
|
Samaritan Ministries |
||
The Salvation Army |
||
Winston-Salem Rescue Mission |
||
North Dakota |
Bismarck |
Ministry on the Margins |
Minot |
YWCA Minot |
|
Ohio |
Akron |
Community Support Services |
Cincinnati |
Shelterhouse |
|
Cleveland |
The City Mission Men's Crisis Center |
|
Columbus |
Compassion Outreach Ministries |
|
Oklahoma |
Oklahoma City |
City Rescue Mission |
Oregon |
Lebanon |
Family Assistance and Resource Center |
Portland |
Central City Concern |
|
Pennsylvania |
Natrona |
The Building Block of Natrona |
Philadelphia |
Bethesda Project |
|
Covenant House Pennsylvania |
||
Project HOME |
||
Pittsburgh |
Pittsburgh Mercy's Operation Safety Net |
|
Pottsville |
Schuylkill Women in Crisis |
|
Wilkes-Barre |
The Salvation Army |
|
Puerto Rico |
San Juan |
The Salvation Army |
Rhode Island |
Providence |
Crossroads Rhode Island |
South Carolina |
Columbia |
Transitions Homeless Center |
Sioux Falls |
Bishop Dudley Hospitality House |
|
Tennessee |
Kingsport |
Hunger First |
Memphis |
Urban Bike Food Ministry |
|
Nashville |
Open Table |
|
Texas |
Austin |
Mobile Loaves and Fishes |
Copperas Cove |
Operation Stand Down Central Texas |
|
Dallas |
The Stewpot Dallas |
|
Farmers Branch |
Just Because Inc. |
|
Houston |
Covenant House Texas |
|
Lord of the Streets |
||
Utah |
Salt Lake City |
The Road Home |
Vermont |
Burlington |
Committee On Temporary Shelter |
Virginia |
Charlottesville |
The Haven |
Richmond |
The Salvation Army |
|
Washington |
Seattle |
Seattle Homeless Outreach |
The Salvation Army |
||
West Virginia |
Charleston |
Union Mission |
Parkersburg |
The Salvation Army |
|
Wisconsin |
Milwaukee |
The Guest House of Milwaukee |
Waukesha |
Hope Center |
|
Wyoming |
Casper |
Wyoming Rescue Mission |
Hanes
Hanes, America's No. 1 apparel brand, is a leading brand of intimate apparel, underwear, sleepwear, socks and casual apparel. Hanes products can be found at leading retailers nationwide and online direct to consumers at www.Hanes.com.
HanesBrands
HanesBrands is a socially responsible leading marketer of everyday basic innerwear and activewear apparel in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia-Pacific. The company markets T-shirts, bras, panties, shapewear, underwear, socks, hosiery, and activewear under some of the world’s strongest apparel brands, including Hanes, Champion, Bonds, Maidenform, DIM, Bali, Playtex, Bras N Things, Nur Die/Nur Der, Alternative, L’eggs, JMS/Just My Size, Lovable, Wonderbra, Berlei, and Gear for Sports. More information about the company and its award-winning corporate social responsibility initiatives may be found at www.Hanes.com/corporate. Visit our newsroom at https://newsroom.hanesbrands.com/. Connect with the company via social media: Twitter (@hanesbrands), Facebook (www.facebook.com/hanesbrandsinc), Instagram (@hanesbrands), and LinkedIn (@Hanesbrandsinc).
