Students offer gift of warmth to the homeless, one pair of socks at a time

Willingdon students came to deliver a special gift: 101 pairs of brand new winter socks collected for clients of the Old Brewery Mission.

In November 2014, Tom Bock, one student’s father, was chatting with another Willingdon parent at a track meet, when he noticed she was knitting socks. After she told him that she planned to donate the socks to a shelter, Bock decided to mobilize the Willingdon community. He contacted families through the home and school association, inviting them to a gathering at a Monkland Ave. pizzeria. The cost of admission was a pair of socks — though many people brought more.

For the students, the highlight of their visit was a chance to speak with Denis Myre, a volunteer at the Old Brewery Mission who was once homeless himself. “I lived at the Mission for three years,” he told the youngsters. “I was sick, I had no money, no home.”

Neila Ben-Ayed, the emergency services coordinator at the Old Brewery Mission, was on hand during students’ visit to accept the socks, which will be distributed to the shelter’s clients. “It’s cold outside and the homeless tend to walk a lot. Their socks get wet and worn out,” Neila Ben-Ayed explained.

We thank them very much.

Read the article in the Montreal Gazette.