Socks appeal in Swampscott

SWAMPSCOTT – Socks might not be the most typical collector’s item for a fifth-grade girl, but a group of Swampscott Girl Scouts have found that socks are pretty essential and desirable items for the area’s homeless, and the girls are asking local residents for donations.”It’s so they can stay warm and healthy, and their feet can stay healthy,” Junior Scout Mia Taylor explained.Junior Scout Lillian Pulaski elaborated.”They protect the people’s feet in the summer and winter when they are walking around and can get lots of infections,” Pulaski said. “They’re not allowed to be in the shelter the whole day, they have to be out and they walk around.”The members of Girl Scout Troop 75284 of Swampscott have so far collected 600 pairs of socks as a project for their Bronze Award, the highest award they can receive at their level, which recognizes a sustainable project addressing a community need. Troop Leader Gargi Cooper is a nurse practitioner at Lynn Community Health Center who regularly works with the homeless population and patrons of My Brother’s Table soup kitchen in Lynn. Cooper explained in a previous interview that public health workers can tell a lot by simply checking a person’s feet – especially somebody who spends a lot of time walking around outside. Workers can check for swelling and infections, signs of frostbite or exposure, and check someone’s pulse and circulation.And as the junior scouts learned in their research and through their project, a person who spends a lot of time walking around goes through a lot of socks.So the girls set up various collection boxes throughout Swampscott beginning in February, then also used some of their money from selling Girl Scout cookies to go on a shopping spree in the sock department of a local store. They recently gave out the socks (and toiletry kits) to patrons of the Tuesday night health clinic at My Brother’s Table in Lynn, and the donations went fast ?So to collect more socks, and ensure the project remains sustainable, the scouts have arranged for two socks-in-lieu-of-ticket nights at North Shore Navigators games June 20 and June 21. Anybody who brings a pair of socks to the game will get in for free, and the troop members will be on hand to explain their project.Navigators General Manager Bill Terlecky said the team was glad to help.”This is another great example of a group within the community striving to make positive change,” Terlecky said. “The Navigators are committed to strengthening the Lynn community by jumping in to help these groups.”In addition to doing some good, the girls have been having some fun.”It was a ton of fun when we all went and counted all the socks,” Scout Priya Cooper said. “It was crazy … and fun to see how much we accomplished.”