August 29th
Today was the first day of school and while I was dreading it like a trip to the dentist, I was excited as I knew I was going to have capstone this year. Of all the seniors I knew, they had always given me advice so since freshmen year I have been thinking of ideas. I was planning to do a CITO event with Geocaching which is a lot to explain. I was basically going to take younger students into the local park and teach them about the harmful effects of litter. As soon as Mrs. Zamorski began talking, she shot down every aspect of my idea. Back to the drawing board.
August 30th
Very late into the afternoon I had discussed my ideas with my mother. She instantly gave me the idea of collecting sock for the homeless. It had seemed like a simple and petty idea, but there was truth behind it.
August 31st
Today I had planned everything I needed for this capstone to go smoothly. To give out tons of socks, I need tons of socks. I plan to set up donation boxes at the churches, the school, and the library if possible. I would also only like to collect brand new socks, as it’s not often the homeless get new things.
September 2nd
I’m going to need a lot of socks. I know from other’s past capstones leaving a box isn’t going to do it. I now plan to also raise money to purchase even more socks. I’m going to start by fundraising at the West Hartford Chipotle. I have wonderful connections there, because it’s where I work. The Fundraiser will take place on October 10th, giving me plenty of time to set it up and spread the word. This will be easy!
September 5th
I was wrong. Helping the homeless is great, but as soon as financials are involved, it’s a big hoopla. I needed more tax information than I do socks. I based my tax info off the church where I will be giving out the socks, hopefully chipotle corporate approves it.
September 18th
My fundraiser was approved! Now all I have to do is spread the word and hope I get alot of attendees. The fundraiser is set for Tuesday, October 10th.
September 20th
My first donation. Mrs Dionne had brought in a pair of socks to get me jump-started. She was also kind enough to let me borrow a collection bin as well.
September 22nd
Today I had asked the youth leader at my church, Jenn, if she would be willing to be my mentor. I outlined everything the mentor has to do no other requirements. She responded later in the day was positive feedback saying she would be honored to be my mentor
September 27th
I had stopped by to conference with Bout today. We reviewed what I had and what the next step is. Apparently she and multiple other staff are fans of Chipotle fundraisers. It is coming up next week and I hope there is a great turnout.
September 28th
Finally got at my sources together, I only had three at first, but as soon as I found the government website it was a wrap. The census was my other source. Homeless per city state or region, it’s got it.
September 30th
it seems as though many of my sources will end up being blogs, as people who were previously homeless homeless as some of the people who feel the strongest. not sure how i am going to cite it.
October 6th
Reached out to Jared today, I mentioned my upcoming fundraiser and asked him exactly what he plans on doing, and i think we will be able to work along great. Bout and Zamorski had also mentioned asking Alex, as he is helping out at a local church with the homeless.
October 7th
I talked to Alex today. he is going to ask some homeless what kind of socks they need. if he helps me out accordingly, i would be able to send a few coats his way.
October 10th
I had my Chipotle fundraiser today, with a shout-out from Mrs. Rubelmann I was able to raise nearly $160 to jump-start my project. Mr. Rivera came by and supported the cause, along with a few of my mother’s coworkers.
October 11th
My local church will be the next place i'm looking to for help. i am well known, but not sure who to talk to, i’ll send a generic email and wait.
October 13th
A response from the church came back, the paired me with one of the main children's leaders. Jenn briefly mentioned possibly setting up collection bin in the children's classrooms. Ill talk to her on Sunday and see what else she was planning.
October 15th
Jenn had a bunch of great ideas! We plan on putting a bin in each of the 3 classrooms and 1 bin in the registration area. I am going to go around to each of the classrooms and talk to the children about why I need socks. I’m going to just wing it, because its only talking to little kids. Jenn had also told me to get a poster i can tape to the bin to let people know what i need.
October 23rd
Today finished putting together posters we can put on the bins. its got the name on my project, “Socks 4 the Sole” and a basic list of needed supplies. Another paper includes why i am doing the project and what connections I have at the church.
October 29th
This Sunday we taped the posters on the bins and located them in each of the classrooms. Today I had already gone into one of the classrooms and talked to some of the students about the necessity of socks. They seem pretty aware of the need and were willing to ask their parents for socks. We had also included copies for them to give to their parents when they leave at the end of the day.
November 2nd
It had been busy recently due to Halloween but the project continues onward. my grandmother had sent a care package containing around 12 pairs of socks to donate to my project. like a train up a hill, we slowly make progress.
November 12th
My check from Chipotle finally came in today. however is it made out to the church where i plan on distributing the socks, so i cannot directly deposit the check. It looks as though i will have to talk to them and work something out.
November 16th
Luckily today i was able to talk to some of the people over at the first Lutheran church and thankfully they were able to sign it over to myself. They are excited for when i distribute the socks at the end of my project.
November 20th
Just stopped by the bank to deposit the check that was written over. Totally declined me at the door, so i’m just going to stick it to the man and just put it in the ATM.
November 23rd
Black Friday sales were today, along with my tv and console, i had also found a great deal on socks. after filling the cart, i walked away with $85 dollars worth of socks. they were mostly black men's socks but i had gotten plenty of them, what a deal.
November 30th
I believe i’m nearly at 200 pairs because the donations just keep coming in. every day staff and students alike are just handing me random pairs of socks. word must be getting around which is really making an impact.
December 6th
Tonight was the pasta dinner at the First Lutheran church. I had attended back in the day so it wasn’t any different. serving salads and pastas to people who appreciate it, really allows you to see what good people are capable of. Also, earlier today Zamorski and I had collaborated and will be having a Great Sock Challenge of our own. At her daughters school, they are collecting socks to go to the homeless in Springfield, so we are going to collect here and will donated to the two locations evenly. for the sock challenge, whichever first block class collects the most socks, will be treated to a light breakfast.
December 18th
The Great Sock challenge was a success! We were able to donate 61 pairs to her daughters school, with the remaining totaling nearly 200 pairs. I have personally thanked Sr. Riviera and Mrs. Nyguyn for the class donations, but it seems there was a different winner, beating them out by nearly 20 pairs. My first block. The students of Mrs. Zamorski’s capstone class and my very own classmates had come through and brought in 60 plus pairs of socks for my project. We definitely had won, I just need to plan out when the breakfast would be.
January 3rd
I've done absolutely nothing for my project over spring break, and I still believe I'm alright. I took a total count the other day, totaling 643 pairs of socks, including those donated to springfield this last month.
January 4th
Went to pasta dinner tonight and was able to talk with Mary Ann. she is one of the head administrators here in connecticut for housing. she arranges case workers, finds shelters and does everything she can with her own time to help whoever she can. she was talking about which shelters would be best and how to work it out.
January 18th
Pasta dinner was going on last night, and i figured it would be a good idea to possibly start handing out some socks tonight. about an hour before pasta dinner i took the time to open up the packages and presort by gender, planning to make the progress easier. it had gone terrible at first, you don’t know how hard it is to get the attention of those who finally get to eat after a few days. the last thing some of these people want to do is listen to some white boy on stage talk about a school project tbh. i want from table to table, giving out 2 pairs a person, trying to even out the colors if possible, because everyone wants black socks. after giving out about 200 pairs, i closed up shop and went home. it’s the look of true gratefulness that you see on people’s faces that makes this project worth it. I had met someone there who told me he was wearing pink fuzzy socks because that’s all he had, and then he proceeded to show me.
January 21st
I had forgotten to write this down last Sunday, but i can summarize it here. At my local church Wellspring, i was able to get a collection table in the lobby and my name within the weekly bulletin to get the word out that i'm collecting socks. Today alone, i’ve been able to meet so many new people who are so willing to help me with this project who i have never even seen before. one older woman offered to drive to the store for socks right then and there and when i told her it wasn’t necessary, she told me to shut up!
January 30th
Today was my last sock collection at my church. it is cool being able to talk with some members of the congregation and seeing how many people like helping a good cause. when I mentioned this was the last people, people resorted to giving me cash, which worked out well. when a sale on socks is around, ill take the fund for a walk.
February 4th
Tonight was another pasta dinner. I had gone on the 7th and i feel more at home every time I go. I find that the experience I have from Chipotle guest service help a lot when interacting with people and serving food. Sadly this is the second week where Mary-Ann was able to go to Bristol with us to distribute more socks. she has been so busy lately and I can totally understand, maybe next week. We plan on going to the "Friendship Place" which is a shelter in Bristol where I plan on handing out more socks.
February 14th
Pasta dinner has been going well through the weeks, people are beginning to know me by name more so that really helps. I was also finally able to get a picture with Dave, who runs the pasta dinner every Wednesday, and he seems he like to be recognized for his work. Tonight I was able to talk to Mary Ann, who we are still working on getting over to Bristol to hand out some more socks. Soon.
February 26th
Tonight i had gotten a text from Mary Ann saying she found out I wasn’t allowed within the actual shelter rehabilitation shelter. Mary Ann mentioned she thinks we would be able to venture out into new Britain. quite skeptical, but i’m sure it will be an experience. not sure when yet, but she plans on going to a few tent cities and train tunnels where the homeless are known to hang out. Mary Ann is part of the community that does a yearly count of New Britain homeless, so her experience will help.
March 8th
Just a status update here. I still have plenty of socks stockpiled at my house while i'm waiting for a response from Mary Ann. hopefully this movement can get up to speed soon. I've also just about wrapped everything up at my church. From here all i need to do is put out a statement thanking everyone for donating and give them a brief review.
March 14th
Tonight was another pasta dinner, should be slow as its still early within the month. I was able to talk to Mary-Ann as well. after maybe an hour or so of talking with the whole group, turned into an event because they took the idea and ran with it. I'm the only young person there, everyone else is in the fifty's and above so every time they start talking about the "Good o'l days" is when i'm excluded. I've seen the movie Grease maybe 10 or so times. but I would not be able to tell you what a sock hop is. And that's what they came up with. We were going to host a sock hop at the church, and the admission fee would be a new pair of socks.
March 15th
Yesterday as I had returned home from school, I arrived to a slim package with my name on it. Upon opening I had discovered it was my "Certificate of Appreciation" from the Joy of Sox foundation. This certificate was personally made out to my project and hand signed by Tom Costello, the "CEO" of the foundation. he just goes by head sock person. Awesome!
April 22nd
The senior year is coming to an end as capstone is wrapping up. I still attend the pasta dinner regularly, however the control of sock distribution has been handed over the the church. Members of the community now refer to the church as the "sock hub". ill check on it normally, but i most certainly feel I've left an impact here.
Today was the first day of school and while I was dreading it like a trip to the dentist, I was excited as I knew I was going to have capstone this year. Of all the seniors I knew, they had always given me advice so since freshmen year I have been thinking of ideas. I was planning to do a CITO event with Geocaching which is a lot to explain. I was basically going to take younger students into the local park and teach them about the harmful effects of litter. As soon as Mrs. Zamorski began talking, she shot down every aspect of my idea. Back to the drawing board.
August 30th
Very late into the afternoon I had discussed my ideas with my mother. She instantly gave me the idea of collecting sock for the homeless. It had seemed like a simple and petty idea, but there was truth behind it.
August 31st
Today I had planned everything I needed for this capstone to go smoothly. To give out tons of socks, I need tons of socks. I plan to set up donation boxes at the churches, the school, and the library if possible. I would also only like to collect brand new socks, as it’s not often the homeless get new things.
September 2nd
I’m going to need a lot of socks. I know from other’s past capstones leaving a box isn’t going to do it. I now plan to also raise money to purchase even more socks. I’m going to start by fundraising at the West Hartford Chipotle. I have wonderful connections there, because it’s where I work. The Fundraiser will take place on October 10th, giving me plenty of time to set it up and spread the word. This will be easy!
September 5th
I was wrong. Helping the homeless is great, but as soon as financials are involved, it’s a big hoopla. I needed more tax information than I do socks. I based my tax info off the church where I will be giving out the socks, hopefully chipotle corporate approves it.
September 18th
My fundraiser was approved! Now all I have to do is spread the word and hope I get alot of attendees. The fundraiser is set for Tuesday, October 10th.
September 20th
My first donation. Mrs Dionne had brought in a pair of socks to get me jump-started. She was also kind enough to let me borrow a collection bin as well.
September 22nd
Today I had asked the youth leader at my church, Jenn, if she would be willing to be my mentor. I outlined everything the mentor has to do no other requirements. She responded later in the day was positive feedback saying she would be honored to be my mentor
September 27th
I had stopped by to conference with Bout today. We reviewed what I had and what the next step is. Apparently she and multiple other staff are fans of Chipotle fundraisers. It is coming up next week and I hope there is a great turnout.
September 28th
Finally got at my sources together, I only had three at first, but as soon as I found the government website it was a wrap. The census was my other source. Homeless per city state or region, it’s got it.
September 30th
it seems as though many of my sources will end up being blogs, as people who were previously homeless homeless as some of the people who feel the strongest. not sure how i am going to cite it.
October 6th
Reached out to Jared today, I mentioned my upcoming fundraiser and asked him exactly what he plans on doing, and i think we will be able to work along great. Bout and Zamorski had also mentioned asking Alex, as he is helping out at a local church with the homeless.
October 7th
I talked to Alex today. he is going to ask some homeless what kind of socks they need. if he helps me out accordingly, i would be able to send a few coats his way.
October 10th
I had my Chipotle fundraiser today, with a shout-out from Mrs. Rubelmann I was able to raise nearly $160 to jump-start my project. Mr. Rivera came by and supported the cause, along with a few of my mother’s coworkers.
October 11th
My local church will be the next place i'm looking to for help. i am well known, but not sure who to talk to, i’ll send a generic email and wait.
October 13th
A response from the church came back, the paired me with one of the main children's leaders. Jenn briefly mentioned possibly setting up collection bin in the children's classrooms. Ill talk to her on Sunday and see what else she was planning.
October 15th
Jenn had a bunch of great ideas! We plan on putting a bin in each of the 3 classrooms and 1 bin in the registration area. I am going to go around to each of the classrooms and talk to the children about why I need socks. I’m going to just wing it, because its only talking to little kids. Jenn had also told me to get a poster i can tape to the bin to let people know what i need.
October 23rd
Today finished putting together posters we can put on the bins. its got the name on my project, “Socks 4 the Sole” and a basic list of needed supplies. Another paper includes why i am doing the project and what connections I have at the church.
October 29th
This Sunday we taped the posters on the bins and located them in each of the classrooms. Today I had already gone into one of the classrooms and talked to some of the students about the necessity of socks. They seem pretty aware of the need and were willing to ask their parents for socks. We had also included copies for them to give to their parents when they leave at the end of the day.
November 2nd
It had been busy recently due to Halloween but the project continues onward. my grandmother had sent a care package containing around 12 pairs of socks to donate to my project. like a train up a hill, we slowly make progress.
November 12th
My check from Chipotle finally came in today. however is it made out to the church where i plan on distributing the socks, so i cannot directly deposit the check. It looks as though i will have to talk to them and work something out.
November 16th
Luckily today i was able to talk to some of the people over at the first Lutheran church and thankfully they were able to sign it over to myself. They are excited for when i distribute the socks at the end of my project.
November 20th
Just stopped by the bank to deposit the check that was written over. Totally declined me at the door, so i’m just going to stick it to the man and just put it in the ATM.
November 23rd
Black Friday sales were today, along with my tv and console, i had also found a great deal on socks. after filling the cart, i walked away with $85 dollars worth of socks. they were mostly black men's socks but i had gotten plenty of them, what a deal.
November 30th
I believe i’m nearly at 200 pairs because the donations just keep coming in. every day staff and students alike are just handing me random pairs of socks. word must be getting around which is really making an impact.
December 6th
Tonight was the pasta dinner at the First Lutheran church. I had attended back in the day so it wasn’t any different. serving salads and pastas to people who appreciate it, really allows you to see what good people are capable of. Also, earlier today Zamorski and I had collaborated and will be having a Great Sock Challenge of our own. At her daughters school, they are collecting socks to go to the homeless in Springfield, so we are going to collect here and will donated to the two locations evenly. for the sock challenge, whichever first block class collects the most socks, will be treated to a light breakfast.
December 18th
The Great Sock challenge was a success! We were able to donate 61 pairs to her daughters school, with the remaining totaling nearly 200 pairs. I have personally thanked Sr. Riviera and Mrs. Nyguyn for the class donations, but it seems there was a different winner, beating them out by nearly 20 pairs. My first block. The students of Mrs. Zamorski’s capstone class and my very own classmates had come through and brought in 60 plus pairs of socks for my project. We definitely had won, I just need to plan out when the breakfast would be.
January 3rd
I've done absolutely nothing for my project over spring break, and I still believe I'm alright. I took a total count the other day, totaling 643 pairs of socks, including those donated to springfield this last month.
January 4th
Went to pasta dinner tonight and was able to talk with Mary Ann. she is one of the head administrators here in connecticut for housing. she arranges case workers, finds shelters and does everything she can with her own time to help whoever she can. she was talking about which shelters would be best and how to work it out.
January 18th
Pasta dinner was going on last night, and i figured it would be a good idea to possibly start handing out some socks tonight. about an hour before pasta dinner i took the time to open up the packages and presort by gender, planning to make the progress easier. it had gone terrible at first, you don’t know how hard it is to get the attention of those who finally get to eat after a few days. the last thing some of these people want to do is listen to some white boy on stage talk about a school project tbh. i want from table to table, giving out 2 pairs a person, trying to even out the colors if possible, because everyone wants black socks. after giving out about 200 pairs, i closed up shop and went home. it’s the look of true gratefulness that you see on people’s faces that makes this project worth it. I had met someone there who told me he was wearing pink fuzzy socks because that’s all he had, and then he proceeded to show me.
January 21st
I had forgotten to write this down last Sunday, but i can summarize it here. At my local church Wellspring, i was able to get a collection table in the lobby and my name within the weekly bulletin to get the word out that i'm collecting socks. Today alone, i’ve been able to meet so many new people who are so willing to help me with this project who i have never even seen before. one older woman offered to drive to the store for socks right then and there and when i told her it wasn’t necessary, she told me to shut up!
January 30th
Today was my last sock collection at my church. it is cool being able to talk with some members of the congregation and seeing how many people like helping a good cause. when I mentioned this was the last people, people resorted to giving me cash, which worked out well. when a sale on socks is around, ill take the fund for a walk.
February 4th
Tonight was another pasta dinner. I had gone on the 7th and i feel more at home every time I go. I find that the experience I have from Chipotle guest service help a lot when interacting with people and serving food. Sadly this is the second week where Mary-Ann was able to go to Bristol with us to distribute more socks. she has been so busy lately and I can totally understand, maybe next week. We plan on going to the "Friendship Place" which is a shelter in Bristol where I plan on handing out more socks.
February 14th
Pasta dinner has been going well through the weeks, people are beginning to know me by name more so that really helps. I was also finally able to get a picture with Dave, who runs the pasta dinner every Wednesday, and he seems he like to be recognized for his work. Tonight I was able to talk to Mary Ann, who we are still working on getting over to Bristol to hand out some more socks. Soon.
February 26th
Tonight i had gotten a text from Mary Ann saying she found out I wasn’t allowed within the actual shelter rehabilitation shelter. Mary Ann mentioned she thinks we would be able to venture out into new Britain. quite skeptical, but i’m sure it will be an experience. not sure when yet, but she plans on going to a few tent cities and train tunnels where the homeless are known to hang out. Mary Ann is part of the community that does a yearly count of New Britain homeless, so her experience will help.
March 8th
Just a status update here. I still have plenty of socks stockpiled at my house while i'm waiting for a response from Mary Ann. hopefully this movement can get up to speed soon. I've also just about wrapped everything up at my church. From here all i need to do is put out a statement thanking everyone for donating and give them a brief review.
March 14th
Tonight was another pasta dinner, should be slow as its still early within the month. I was able to talk to Mary-Ann as well. after maybe an hour or so of talking with the whole group, turned into an event because they took the idea and ran with it. I'm the only young person there, everyone else is in the fifty's and above so every time they start talking about the "Good o'l days" is when i'm excluded. I've seen the movie Grease maybe 10 or so times. but I would not be able to tell you what a sock hop is. And that's what they came up with. We were going to host a sock hop at the church, and the admission fee would be a new pair of socks.
March 15th
Yesterday as I had returned home from school, I arrived to a slim package with my name on it. Upon opening I had discovered it was my "Certificate of Appreciation" from the Joy of Sox foundation. This certificate was personally made out to my project and hand signed by Tom Costello, the "CEO" of the foundation. he just goes by head sock person. Awesome!
April 22nd
The senior year is coming to an end as capstone is wrapping up. I still attend the pasta dinner regularly, however the control of sock distribution has been handed over the the church. Members of the community now refer to the church as the "sock hub". ill check on it normally, but i most certainly feel I've left an impact here.