This week, our newest Sock Wrangler, Camryn Haupert, received her first paycheck and we came together to celebrate. John Cronin, our co-founder, handed Camryn her check and congratulated her while her colleagues looked on and applauded.
“This makes me so happy,” said Camryn.
John Cronin said, “We are so proud of Camryn. This is what we want to do, create more jobs for people with differing abilities.”
Our Customers Make It Possible to Create a Job for Camryn
When you buy socks from John’s Crazy Socks, you help us employ people with differing abilities. For many of our colleagues, their job at John’s Crazy Socks is their first job and they have never received a paycheck before. We celebrate those occasions, bringing everyone together to cheer for a colleague receiving his or her first paycheck.
Camryn’s Path to John’s Crazy Socks
Camryn first learned about John’s Crazy Socks when she heard John and his co-founder and father, Mark X. Cronin, speak at her school, James E. Allen. After leaving school, Camryn received job training and job placement services from DDI, one of the many social services agencies that work with John’s Crazy Socks.
Camryn had never held a job before and her job coach brought her for a visit to John’s Crazy Socks to see if she could perform the work we do in our warehouse and if she would be interested in working here. Camryn loved what she saw and when we had an opening, Camryn applied for a job as a Sock Wrangler, a picker in our pick and pack warehouse.
Getting a Job as a Sock Wrangler
When we have an opening in our warehouse, we let our community know of that opportunity. Our colleagues look for people they know who would be a good fit to join us in our mission to spread happiness. We share the posting at our website and on our social media so our supporters know of the job opening. And we alert the social service agencies and area high schools that have come to know us because they may know someone who would be a good fit with us.
We meet with the candidates so they understand our story and our values. Then we train the applicant in our processes. Our current Sock Wranglers will train the new people and the Sock Wranglers love it.
John Schneider, one of our longer tenured colleagues, said, “I like teaching people how to do the job. I like helping them.”
When the candidate is ready, he or she must pass the Socks Wrangler test: picking six orders in twenty minutes or less.
“They have to show us they can do the job,” said Mark X. Cronin. “There is nothing extraneous. No fluff. Show us you can do the work and you get the job.”
Mark explained, “This is part of the dignity of working at John’s Crazy Socks. We do not give out jobs. Everyone who works here knows that he or she earned the job and he or she deserves to be here. Everyone contributes to the mission of spreading happiness.”
“I get excited every time we create a new job and hire a new person,” said John Cronin.
Camryn’s mother wrote, “Camryn is very excited for the opportunity to work at John’s Crazy Socks.”
About John’s Crazy Socks
John’s Crazy Socks was inspired by John Lee Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and his love of colorful and fun socks—what he calls his “crazy socks.” He and his father, Mark X. Cronin, started the company as a social enterprise with a mission of Spreading Happiness™. With more than 4,000 socks, John’s Crazy Socks is now the world’s largest sock store. More than half their employees have a differing ability, and their Giving Back program has raised over $650,000 for charity partners like the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society, and the Autism Society of America. Most of all, they are Spreading Happiness™.
For more information about John’s Crazy Socks, visit our webpage, Facebook page, Instagram account, TikTok or YouTube channel. You can also contact us at 631-760-5625 or via email at service@johnscrazysocks.com.
