Start season on the right foot with Sock it to ‘Em

By Lethbridge Herald on November 13, 2025.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

With the weather slowly but surely changing into wintery cold, Sock it to ‘Em is back for its 25th year to help those in need get socks to keep their feet warm. 

What started as a way to help students in need have socks during the winter months, after Gail Petrie noticed children in the school where she was the caretaker at come in without socks, has evolved into collecting socks for multiple groups of people, that need socks to keep their feet warm. 

“Last year we had donations of approximately 6,000 pairs of socks, which takes us up to this point to a value of up to $196,000 worth of socks in the last 24 years,” said Petrie. 

Every year she hopes to get as many pairs of socks as possible, but with the cost of living, groceries, and everything else going up, she wonders if they would. 

“But every year I am always so surprised, on how the community comes forward for our campaign.”

The schools collect socks at each school. Schools keep some socks for their students who need them, and the rest are brought into Nord-Bridge Senior Centre to create a “Sock Mountain” for organizations to grab socks from and deliver them to their clients. 

Charlene Kocken, seniors assistant navigator at Nord-Bridge Senior Centre, said they are happy to continue to collaborate with Sock it to ‘Em to not only collect socks, but to provide a place to build Sock Mountain. 

“We also like to pay it forward to the agencies that need help with socks for their clients. Those agencies are Wood Homes, Harbour House, Streets Alive, Lethbridge Family Services Angel Tree, the Soup Kitchen and the homeless shelter,” said Kocken. 

Those who want to take part in the Sock it to ‘Em program but do not have children in school can participate by donating socks directly to Nord-Bridge, or financial donations for them to purchase socks.