Box of Socks

What it is

One box. One pair at a time.

Box of Socks is a winter appeal that collects brand-new socks for people who are homeless and those less fortunate. The idea was started by Elsie Valentine Helyer when she was a pupil at Boundary Oak School for a school project about something she was proud of and she picked her sandwich making for the homeless and developed it into Elsie’s Box of Socks. She is so happy that her new school Bohunt wants to help her carry on this important work. And is really pleased to have roped in several of her friends at their new schools and is so grateful that their schools all want to help too, as well as her friends still at Boundary Oak. “It is amazing how it’s all coming together - just imagine what we can all do to help”

The idea came from seeing homeless people when she was out and about on winter days, and not being able to imagine how hard it must be to have nowhere safe or warm or clean to live or stay. To feel so cold and scared and be hungry, and just wanting to help by doing more than just spending her pocket money buying them a hot drink, or a sausage roll, or burger and delivering freshly made sandwiches.

As a little girl she would help deliver freshly made sandwiches that her mum made every month or as often as possible, with fresh fruit and snacks from the cupboard.

Wanting to do more and to help them keep warm, she did a school project and asked all her school friends to collect the one thing every child could afford to give: new socks. What began as one box has now collected more than 1,000 pairs, and this winter six schools across Hampshire are joining in.

It’s a simple idea. Socks are reasonably cheap to buy and easy to give, and for someone sleeping outside a dry, warm pair matters a great deal.