Lille charity pairs up odd socks to help the homeless
Fed up of finding odd socks in the washing machine or at the back of a drawer? You can now send them to a new charity in Lille, which sends socks to those in need.
Sock En Stock, based in Lille, was set up in January by local couple Nathan Bounie and L茅a Gonzalez, and takes on odd sock donations - as long as they are clean and in good condition - to create pairs and give them to more deprived communities or homeless people.
The couple pairs up the donations and distributes them to charities such as the Red Cross, homeless service Abej Solidarit茅, clothing association Sans Maille 脟a Caille (which translates in French slang as 鈥榃ithout a stitch, it鈥檚 freezing鈥�), homeless charity Action Froid and refugee and migrant service Utopia 56.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 generally give their socks to charities; they throw them away instead,鈥� explained Bounie, an economist, to . 鈥淪o charities find themselves with a lack of socks to give away, even though having warm and comfortable feet is really important if you鈥檙e homeless. It鈥檚 a question of dignity.鈥�
The charity operates collection points in Lille and its surroundings, including in shops, libraries, cultural centres and sports halls, and has ambitions to take the service country-wide.
Gonzalez, who is a lawyer, added: 鈥淓ven though we don鈥檛 have much free time, we still sort the socks by colour, size, and style, and wash them in our own washing machine.鈥�
The charity has since teamed up with the ecological household brand L鈥橝rbre Vert, which now supplies their washing powder, and the couple hope to work with local launderettes in future too.
