Sock drive supports the homeless

Some of the sock donated by local residents.

The second annual Socks for the Holidays campaign in Annandale netted more than 1,100 pairs of socks for the homeless.

The socks were dropped off at the Patrick Henry Family Shelter, a 42-bed facility in Seven Corners operated for Fairfax County by Shelter House. If that shelter doesn’t need all the socks, the overflow will be distributed to other shelters around the county.

More than 100 people contributed, most of them from the Broyhill Crest neighborhood, reports Vivianne Couts, who organized the sock drive along with Brooke Wright and Peggy Hennessy.

They solicited new pairs of socks on Nextdoor and Facebook and sent postcards to all residents of Broyhill Crest. People responded generously, donating 525 pairs of socks for men, 300 for women, and 275 for kids.

“It was great to come home from work and see packages of socks at my front door,” says Couts, a real estate broker who also shows neighborhood spirit by distributing pumpkins and flags to residents on other holidays.