MONROE — Third-grade student at Northside Elementary School in Monroe spent the month of October collecting socks as a part of the National Socktober Initiative after watching a video by Kid President titled “How to Do Good.” The call was put out to the entire school to collect socks for a month in order to provide socks for people who are not able to purchase them.  

Rick Gleason spoke to students and staff about how their good deed will impact the community. Through his own personal experience and that of many others, he taught those in attendance about the reasons people become homeless, hoping that this teaching will help reduce the stigma surrounding homelessness. He reminded students that homelessness can happen to anyone, for lots of reasons. 

He thanked students for the donation stating that it followed the Northside Elementary School motto of “being respectful and responsible.”

Before leaving, Gleason donated several copies of a new book titled “We Got This” to the school. Sesame Street, in conjunction with Family Promise, has produced these books about a character named Lily who is homeless. Lily is also an active Muppet on “Sesame Street.” Copies of the donated books can also be found in the main lobby of most Sugar River Bank locations for the next two to three weeks and are free to families. 

Gleason encouraged students to continue to look for ways to give to Family Promise and the Monroe Community Closet via their local churches, Scout groups and individual family volunteering.

For more about the National Socktober Initiative, visit happysocktober.com.