Warm Feet, Big Hearts: Peak First Graders Lead School Sock Drive

Tasked with their first-ever service project, the first graders at Peak Charter Academy were focused on helping others. “Socktober,” their month-long drive to collect socks for those in need, turned into a labor of love as the young students encouraged the entire school to participate.

Guided by Dean Brianna Ferraro and Social Worker Kimberly Johnson, the project gave students the opportunity to take ownership of a charitable drive from start to finish.

“We wanted to have as many partners as we could to make a big impact,” Ferraro said. “Kim reached out to a few different places, and we heard back from Note in the Pocket, Duke Children's Hospital, and the Ronald McDonald House who were all willing to accept donations from us.”

First graders created donation boxes and flyers for every grade level in the school and placed them in strategic spots to encourage students to donate. Special spirit days promoted the project and included a “crazy sock day” and a dress-down day.

Ferraro said it was exciting to see the first graders realize they made it all happen.

“They donated, but they also organized it, and they truly felt like they helped people. First grade alone collected around 800 pairs! Socks just kept coming in even after the official end date."

The school ended up collecting 1,195 pairs of socks for local children and families in need.

A pep rally was held to celebrate the first graders’ hard work. Dean Ferraro played a video that showed the students, their posters, and teachers sorting through the mountain of socks. The highlight came when video thank-you messages from partner organizations like Note in the Pocket were played for the children. When the representative in the video addressed them, the room lit up and the first graders cheered.

"That’s us! She’s talking to us!" they said.

"I was almost in tears during the pep rally," Ferraro said. "When they realized the total was over a thousand, they were clapping, cheering, and so proud of themselves. They weren't cheering for anything else—they were celebrating their own ability to help others. It's hard to make me cry, but seeing how happy they were was truly special."

With the first year of "Socktober" setting such a high benchmark, Peak Charter Academy is already planning ways to expand the tradition next year.

Great work giving back to your community, Peak!