Last year, in the third quarter of the year that will live in infamy (2020), we hatched a hair-brained idea to start an annual competitive NEW sock raising competition. We called it The DYOJO SOCKTember. We wanted a simple way to help people have some fun, stay connected, and do some good. Our friends, peers, clients, partners, vendors, and community members saw the vision and rolled up their sleeves to get involved. With short notice and minimal traditional fan-faire or media coverage, we were able to raise over 5,500 NEW socks and donate those to local charities.
What is a NEW Sock Raising Competition?
Why socks you may ask? Well, if the golden rule tells us to treat others the way we would want to be treated, who doesn’t love a NEW pair of socks? Everyone loves a NEW pair of socks. It turns out that NEW socks are also among the highest requested items of need for local charities. Every team reported that when they delivered their haul of socks to the local organization that their team chose to support, the reception was heartwarming and energized them to return this year to compete again.
The DYOJO SOCKTember 2021 is a great opportunity for client outreach, employee engagement, and community goodwill.
Even during the pandemic, people from around the world safely contributed NEW socks in-person and remotely. 2020 SOCKTember teams included:
- Sock Agents led by Kelsey Isaacson - Home with Kelsey Isaacson (Puyallup, WA)
- Sock Hawks led by Tammy Birklid - Merit Construction (Tacoma, WA)
- Sisters for Socks led by Lindsey Ward - The Contents Specialists (Seattle, WA)
- Sock Kings led by Jon Isaacson - 3 Kings Environmental (Sumner, WA)
- 2020 Sponsors: Aramsco of Seattle, Home with Kelsey Isaacson, and 3 Kings Environmental
How do I get involved with SOCKTember 2021?
If you are wondering how you can get involved with The DYOJO SOCKTember 2021 Annual NEW Sock Raising Competition, you are asking the right question. There are four ways to be involved in SOCKTember 2021 (see our website for more details):
- Lead a local NEW sock raising team
- Join a local NEW sock raising team
- Donate NEW socks to a local NEW sock raising team
- Sponsor SOCKTember
The idea really is simple, we want to do some good and have some fun. If you decide to be a team leader, you will gather a local team of 3-5 core members, engage your local clients, partners, vendors, etc and raise as many NEW socks as you can, which you will then donate to local charities of your choosing.
When does SOCKTember 2021 start and how do I win?
We all start gathering NEW socks the first day of September 2021 until the last day of September 2021. Last year, with the pandemic, we learned it is simple to set up an Amazon link that will send socks to an address that you designate. This is competitive sock raising, think March Madness without the elimination of teams. Thanks to our 2020 sponsors, we have created an annual trophy, which currently is proudly displayed in the halls of The Contents Specialists (TCS) office in Seattle, WA.
Last year's winner was Sisters for Socks, led by Lindsey Ward of TCS, their team raised over 2,400 NEW socks and the 2020 event raised over 5,500 NEW socks total (see the video).
