SitNews - Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

Where do all the socks go?

Sock drive begins again

By Shaun Pickens and Sandra Kinzer

 

November 29, 2018
Thursday PM


(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - It’s that time of year, when the weather gets colder and people begin to decorate for the holidays. Along with the holiday spirit, we begin to see many food and donation boxes placed around the community.

Community Connections - Ketchikan, Alaska - Holiday Sock Drive

Through its Holiday Sock Drive, Community Connections is again inviting folks to help make this holiday season a little brighter. Donations welcomed include new socks and outerwear, gloves, coats, mittens, scarves, hats… anything warm! Your generoud donation will be delivered to a thankful recipient.

But who are these recipients? Here’s a story of one of them.

A young Ketchikan man who enjoyed hunting, and an award winner hunter, was involved in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury and was transferred to a hospital in Colorado. When he was released, he was referred to Community Connections in Ketchikan where staff determined that he might receive better care if he was part of an inpatient rehabilitation program. As Alaska does not this type of program, the young man was referred to a program in the lower 48. However, that rehabilitation program did not meet his needs and upon release he returned to Ketchikan. Unfortunately most of his belongings were lost during the transfer and he returned home with many missing items. This repeated again - he was sent down south only to be returned again to Ketchikan with most of his belongings again lost in the transition.

Today, he has an apartment and is making progress in his rehabilitation. He can’t go out hunting right now, but is glad to be back home in Alaska. However, he is still in need of clothes and other basic necessities. Through the sock drive Community Connections will be able to replace some of his belongings, including socks and outerwear that are crucial during the Southeast Alaska winter.

Last year, Community Connections in Ketchikan and Prince of Wales collected over 750 socks, along with numerous jackets, scarves, and hats through donations that were distributed to children and adults with disabilities and Elders in the communities of Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island in need of these items.

Again this year, each donation will find its way to a disadvantaged individual in your community. Through your generosity and support, Community Connections hopes to provide a comfortable holiday to those in need in the Ketchikan and Prince of Wales area.

If you are interested in participating look for Holiday Sock Drive donation baskets at local businesses.

Drop Your Socks Here Ketchikan:

My Place
Siilly Munchkins
Coastal Real Estage Group
First Bank (Dock St and Totem Branch)
Cape Fox
The Landing
Simply Bella
Madison True Value

Drop Your Socks Here Prince of Wales:

Alaska Gifts
Black Bear Store
Shaub Ellison
Smoke Shop
The Port
Papa's Pizza
Naukati Connections

 

On the Web:

Community Connections Sock Drive
https://comconnections.org/donations/holiday-sock-drive/

 

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

 

Source of News:

Community Connections
www.comconnections.org

 

Representations of fact and opinions in comments posted are solely those of the individual posters and do not represent the opinions of Sitnews.



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