PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Northeast Philadelphia boy is helping the homeless this holiday season with his own sock drive.
11-year-old Declan Cassidy said he got the idea to start Declan's Socks for the Streets by watching his mother.
"We do a lot of fundraisers and volunteering and my sister has substance use disorder," he shared.
This is now his second year collecting socks.
"We made flyers and we put them in different places and people started to see them and started to donate some," said Cassidy.
His mother, Jen Malazita, said Cassidy has been working hard this year.
"He opens up all his packages. He helps count them and put them into the boxes and we just keep finding different locations in our house to store them up to the ceiling," she detailed.
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This year, Cassidy is donating his socks to four different organizations: Never Surrender Hope, Women Against Abuse, Veterans Multi-Service Center, and Joy of Socks where he plans to deliver personally.
He said socks are important to those who are struggling in the winter season, explaining, "We picked socks because it's the least donated thing."
Last year, they collected 1,005 pairs of socks. This year, they have over 6,000 and counting, as their sock drive runs through December 20.
"I can't believe how many socks we got this year compared to last year," said Malazita. "It's just truly amazing how many people have been donating to him."
She said you can help by sending new socks to their home address, 2841 Norcom Court, Philadelphia, Pa. 19154. They can also arrange pickup for local donations.