‘My socks are gone’: Community’s sock drive thwarted by thieves

A Winnipeg volunteer’s planned sock donation was thwarted by thieves. CTV’s Danton Unger has more on her next steps.

A community’s month-long sock drive had a disappointing end after someone stole more than 100 pairs of socks meant to help people in need. Despite the setback, one volunteer is doing what she can to put her best foot forward.

Ashley Munro—a volunteer with the St. Laurent Metis Local—said she was heartbroken when she went out to her car in Downtown Winnipeg Monday afternoon. Someone had smashed her window and stolen 164 pairs of donated socks.

“It was kind of heartbreaking,” she said, adding just two pairs of socks were left behind. “The first thing I thought of was, ‘My socks are gone.’”

The socks had been a part of a month-long donation drive organized by the St. Laurent Metis Local, collected for people in need this winter.

Munro said she had been planning to donate the socks Monday afternoon—an act of goodwill that was thwarted by thieves.

“After collecting for so long and seeing them gone, the first thing I thought was, ‘Oh no, I’m letting these people down now. I don’t have them to donate,’” she said.

It was all part of the Main Street Project’s Socktober campaign—one of its largest annual donation campaigns.

“Every year we’re aiming to collect socks to help us get through the winter months here at Main Street Project,” said Cindy Titus, the interim director of development. “Our goal this year was to collect about 30,000 pairs of socks.”

Titus said so far 14,780 pairs of socks have been collected, with more coming in every single day.

As for the stolen socks, Munro said she plans to replace them all herself, with help of her community. While disappointed, she is hopeful the stolen socks will still end up helping someone.

“I just hope that whoever took them is handing them out to the people who need them,” she said. “That’s what they were for: people who need them to keep their feet warm throughout the winter.”

Munro said she is collecting more donations until Thursday.

Titus said she was touched to hear Munro’s story.

“We’re just thankful for that compassion and understanding and willingness to help out again,” she said. “It means a lot to us that they’re willing to restart their campaign and collect more sock donations and drop them off to us; that’s just so beautiful and wonderful.”

Even though Socktober has wrapped up, Main Street Project said it is still collecting sock donations, along with essentials for the winter months—like warm jackets and mitts.

More details can be found on the Main Street Project website.