Sox Of Love: A Journey Of Compassion 1 Pair Of Socks At A Time

Through her job, Tamara Nelson had frequent interactions with the homeless. And she discovered they all needed one thing, socks. So, she started providing socks for them with love.

“It didn’t matter if the person was 14 or 84, the answer was always the same, I would like a pair of socks, my feet hurt,” said Nelson.

Out of compassion on Valentine's Day 2016, she and a few friends went out armed with 200 pairs of socks, anticipating changing the world

“We went downtown and could not believe that we were out of socks in less than ten minutes. That is when I knew it wasn’t going to be a one-time thing,” said Nelson.

Nine years later the volunteer group has expanded into every state except New Jersey. “We’re in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico,” said Nelson.

Changing lives with something as simple as socks. “My grandma used to tell me all the time, if everybody would just do a little bit, a whole lot would get done, so, I’m just doing my little bit,” said Nelson.

With Sox of Love spreading all over the world, in 2018 the local focus expanded, when Tamara gave a pair of socks to a homeless woman.

“She told me, she said I’m going to throw these in the trash,” said Nelson. The lady, grateful for the socks, explained she could not afford to wash them, so Nelson began investigating. “I couldn’t believe how much it cost to simply wash clothes,” said Nelson.

Nelson and her team of volunteers now host laundry events in 12 different locations around the metro, providing $10.00 to families to pay for the machines.

“We provide the detergent, the coins, the dryer sheets, the bleach,” said Nelson

They are gearing up for their annual Valentine’s Day event, where they will distribute socks and wash clothes in all seventy-seven counties in Oklahoma

“We’re going to make over fifteen hundred different bags of love that we are going to hand out over Valentine’s weekend,” said Nelson.

The big packing event is open to everyone on February 1 at Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 13112 N. Rockwell. Sign-up and donation information can be found on their website at www.soxforlove.org.