Michigan winters produce unending demand for an important product: warm socks. While many people take them for granted as an afterthought in the grand scheme of apparel, for those in need, good socks can be a critical resource during an icy winter. In a press release Thursday, the Three Rivers Woman’s Club (TRWC) announced it is not only continuing but expanding its “Socks for the Sole” campaign, which it founded one year ago.

Last fall, according to the release, TRWC member Waneta Truckey was working at the Three Rivers Food Site. In her daily interactions there, she realized there was “a great need in the community for socks.” Truckey reached out to fellow club members, and a campaign was born. “The donations started pouring in,” TRWC volunteers said.

TRWC calls the campaign a “project of warmth.” Socks for the Sole “strives to collect and distribute either new or gently used socks to everyone who needs them,” the release said. The distribution point is the Three Rivers Food Site, which is located in the rear of Lowry’s Books and More at 18 Railroad Drive in downtown Three Rivers. The site is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

For this winter, Waneta and fellow TRWC member Margaret Sykes are looking to collect and distribute 2,000 pairs of socks. “With over 400 pairs already collected and distributed, they are hopeful of reaching that goal,” the release said of this year’s campaign. TRWC volunteers said there is great need for both men’s and women’s socks. Donations are accepted for new or gently used socks that are in pairs and without holes. Those wishing to donate socks can bring them to the Food Site during open hours.

TRWC volunteers said, “the volunteers at the Food Site will make sure the socks get to those in need this winter.” For additional information, TRWC contact Jenny Koski can be reached at 269-251-7805.

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.