Socktober Campaign Fundraises $3,641 Toward Local Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic

At Nova Southeastern University, giving back and helping others in need is what Sharks do; there is no gesture too large or small to make a difference.

During the month of October, NSU took part in the national fundraiser, “Socktober”. This fundraiser focuses on donating socks to homeless shelters in surrounding areas and was originally created by a popular Youtuber, “Kid President” in 2013. Since then, the initiative has expanded on a national level and has allowed NSU to make a difference in the Shark community.

According to the National Alliance To End Homelessness, there are nearly 600,000 homeless people in the United States. At shelters around the nation, socks are the number one requested item.

With every $5 donation towards NSU’s Socktober campaign, the university committed a pair of socks to donate to a local homeless shelter in need.

“We’re so excited to give these opportunities to different places, not only in Fort Lauderdale but expanding our Socktober campaign to the eight regional campuses, included Puerto Rico,” said Raphael Walters, M. Ed., Director of Alumni Relations. “We were able to give to numerous shelters and contribute towards many locations.”

By spreading the Socktober campaign from a local level to a regional one, Sharks were able to make an impact from anywhere.

“We are so happy that we were able to help give back at the Fort Myers Campus and participate in Socktober. The Salvation Army was very appreciative, and we are very fortunate to be able to come together and support those in need,” stated Edward Franco, MBA, Interim Campus Director of NSU’s Ft. Myer’s campus.

In Orlando, Socktober donations were taken to the Covenant House, which provides shelter to youths experiencing homelessness.

“There are countless NSU alumni in the Central Florida community and any opportunity for us to give back to those in need, we make a priority to get done,” said Richard Hudnett, Ed.D, Assistant Director of the NSU Orlando campus, “Any opportunity to give back to the Central Florida community and in general, any community in need, we want to take action.”

Alongside the donations supporting homeless shelters, all proceeds collected went towards the NSU Cares fund, which assists NSU faculty, staff, alumni, and students who have been victims of natural disasters.

Making a difference in the NSU community continues to be a priority, and with the help of alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends, we – as #OneNSU – were able to warm the hearts and feet of those in need as we close out a difficult year.

Although the goal for Socktober was to raise $25,000 and to donate 5,000 pairs of socks, NSU was able to raise $3,641 which accounted for 748 socks donated to the homeless shelters.

During this initiative, Geico was the key sponsor of this initiative. The NSU Alumni Association is grateful to Geico for sponsoring this important initiative, as well as being a proud partner!

Want to be a part of Socktober? You can still donate at:

https://www.givecampus.com/schools/NovaSoutheasternUniversity/nsu-socktober