The Muskoka Red SOCK Initiative stuffs hundreds of stockings for kids in need

For the fifth year, Faith Baptist Church, in coordination with The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation and Christine’s Place, will fill hundreds of red stockings to their brims, and some beyond, with small gifts and tokens for the younger members of our community. The Muskoka Red SOCK Initiative—a clever acronym for Serving Our Community Kids—ensures many children will get a special gift at Christmas.

“Our vision is to strengthen families for a transformed community,” says Bill Anderson, Children’s Pastor at Faith. “The Muskoka Red SOCK Initiative is a natural and practical way for us to connect our vision to our local community.”

Beginning in November, those in need had an opportunity to request a stocking, providing information such as the age and gender of their children, which in turn created a registry outlining the areas of need in our town. Members of the Faith community then had the opportunity to fill the stockings.

“Everyone is given a list and all we ask is that gifts be safe, appropriate and that the items reflect the vision of our church community,” says Shirley Lyngseth. “Faith Baptist provides several items to the children as well, such as Christmas-themed books, comic book bibles and Veggietales movies.”

Those donating are asked to limit the gifts to things that will fit inside the sock, something Lyngseth says doesn’t always happen. “The generosity of this community is just amazing,” she says. “We’ve collected all the stockings back now, and our storage room is simply overflowing, just like a lot of the socks themselves!”

In 2017, Faith was able to fill and deliver more than 290 socks to those in need. So far in 2018, they’ve filled just over 265 requests, but are ready if more come in last minute. “There are always a few extras ready, just in case,” says Lyngseth.

All stockings are inspected, labelled and wrapped prior to making them available to those who requested them on what has been dubbed ‘processing day’, a term used with humour by both Lyngseth and Anderson when describing the event.

“It feels a bit industrial, but given the number of socks, there’s a lot to be done,” says Anderson.

Lyngseth echoed the sentiment, saying, “We start at 10 a.m. and we don’t leave until we’re finished.”

The stockings can be picked up by those who requested them on Dec. 20 and 21 in the church foyer. If there are any that go unclaimed after those dates, they are made available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lyngseth hopes the initiative will continue to grow and connect with the young people in our community. “Every child deserves love and to be loved,” she says.

Faith Baptist Church invites everyone to check out their website for other programs offered for youth in the community at www.faithmuskoka.ca.

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