Giving Back Report for November 2021
In November 2021, we raised $7,602.55 for our charity partners. Through November 2021, we have now raised more than $472,191 for our charity partners. Giving Back is an essential part of our mission and we are excited by our ability to support others. We continue to learn that the more we can give, the happier we are.
Our Giving Pack Program
A core aspect of our mission at John’s Crazy Socks is to demonstrate the capabilities and contributions of people with differing abilities. Our Giving Back Program helps us to achieve this mission. By donating to charities like the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society and the Autism Society of America, we enable them to do more work on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities.
John Cronin, the co-founder and inspiration behind John’s Crazy Socks, initiated the Giving Back Program by committing to donate five percent of our earnings to the Special Olympics even before we opened for business. John is a Special Olympics athlete and knows first-hand the difference the Special Olympics can make in the lives of all involved.
Since opening, we have added a growing list of Awareness Socks and Charity Socks that raise money for our charity partners. These include our Down Syndrome Awareness Socks, which John designed, and our Autism Awareness Socks. John loves to hand deliver the donations and our staff celebrates when we announce our Giving Back totals for the month.
Event: Celebration of Contributions to Special Olympics
On November 19, John’s Crazy Socks hosted a celebration of the fact that we have donated more than $100,000 to Special Olympics since our founding in December 2016. As far as we know, John is the first Special Olympics athlete to donate such a sum to the organization. Among the dignitaries at the celebration were Stacey Hengsterman, CEO of Special Olympics NY, Thomas DiNapoli, NYS Comptroller, NYS Assemblyman Jarret Gandolfo and Huntington Town Councilwoman Joan Cergol. Our John’s Crazy Socks staff, many of whom are Special Olympics athletes just like John, were also on hand along with several of John’s Special Olympics coaches, including Joe Amadeo (basketball and track), Mike Ludin (soccer) and Linda Costello-Roth (snowshoe). Everyone in attendance enjoyed celebrating this milestone achievement. 
Event: Polar Plunge to Benefit Special Olympics
On Saturday, November 20, John once again plunged into the icy waters of Long Island Sound to raise money for Special Olympics. This was the eighth year in a row that John has participated in the Brookhaven Town Polar Plunge at Cedar Beach. We also had a crew of John’s Crazy Socks employees working at the event displaying our one-of a-kind Polar Plunge socks that raise money for Special Olympics. John is always happy to be “freezin’ for a reason” when Special Olympics is looking to fundraise for its outstanding programs!
Event: Gratitude Week
Just as in prior years, John’s Crazy Socks started their own “Gratitude Week” on the Monday before Thanksgiving and continued through Giving Tuesday – November 30. When many businesses are promoting sales and discounts, we want to express our gratitude to our customers and charity partners by giving back to our customers and raising additional money for our charity partners. During the peak of the holiday shopping season, we give our loyal customers additional products and promotions with every order and on Giving Tuesday, we donated an additional $1 for every order placed to Special Olympics. As John says, the key to happiness is gratitude and doing for others. We try to embody those principles in our business even when the annual holiday shopping frenzy begins.
Giving Back – November 2021
This report covers sales and activities from November 1 through November 30, 2021.
Giving Back to the Special Olympics
We pledge 5 percent of our annual earnings to the Special Olympics. We also donate 5 percent of the sales from our Sock of the Month Club to the Special Olympics. In addition, each sale of Shark Socks, Polar Plunge Socks, and Spreading Happiness Socks results in a donation to the Special Olympics.
This month, we raised $790.83 for the Special Olympics, including $457.00 from orders received on Giving Tuesday.
Donations to Charity Partners
This table shows how much money we generated for each of our charitable partners.
|
Charity |
Monthly Donation |
|
Ability Revolution |
$ 67.15 |
|
ACDS |
$ 268.97 |
|
ACLD |
$ 3.90 |
|
American Cancer Society |
$ 52.48 |
|
American Nurses Foundation |
$ 240.80 |
|
Autism Speaks |
$ 116.42 |
|
Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation |
$ 253.21 |
|
Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation |
$ 85.99 |
|
Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation |
$ 43.37 |
|
Heartshare Human Services of New York |
$ 15.28 |
|
Huntington Community First Aid Squad |
$ 41.97 |
|
Long Island Coalition Against Bullying |
$ 12.59 |
|
LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation |
$ 30.78 |
|
Nassau County Firefighters Museum and Education Center |
$ 87.66 |
|
Nassau Suffolk Chapter of the Autism Society of America |
$ 124.21 |
|
National Down Syndrome Society |
$ 539.04 |
|
North Shore Animal League America |
$ 410.37 |
|
PS I Love You Day |
$ 12.59 |
|
Special Olympics |
$ 790.83 |
|
The Whaling Museum and Education Center |
$ 29.38 |
|
UCP-Long Island |
$ 48.38 |
|
William Syndrome Association |
$ 24.18 |
Donation of Charity Boxes
Every month, we receive many requests for donations of socks and/or boxes of socks that can be used at charity auctions or events to raise money for a multitude of organizations that are doing admirable work on behalf of non-profit groups. In some months, we have received more than 1,000 requests for sock donations.
There are many great causes – people working to protect the environment, to advance the arts, to lift people out of poverty, to advance peace – and we want to support many, many causes. Nonetheless, we realize that we can have a better impact focusing on issues concerning people with differing abilities since that resonates best with our overall mission. We do our best to fill as many requests as possible, but we cannot fill every request for even those organizations that are fully aligned with our mission.
In the past month, we donated 12 boxes to be used at fundraising events associated with the following charitable organizations:
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In addition, we donated socks to Network Support Services for their use providing socks to recently released incarcerated people in New York City.
Other Donations
In addition to our monthly charitable donations, donation boxes and sock donations, in November 2021, we donated $1,433 to charities like the National Down Syndrome Society, Gigi’s Playhouse-NYC, Hope Story, Special Olympics, Long Island Cares, and a local turkey drive.
Summary
In summary, we made the following donation in November 2021:
- Monthly Donations to Charity Partners $ 3,299.55
- Charity Boxes $ 1,200.00
- Other Donations $ 3,103.00
Total $ 7,602.55
Our Charity and Awareness Socks
Charity and Awareness Socks are a large part of our Giving Back Program. The sale of each Charity and Awareness sock results in a donation to a specific charity.
The following lists our Charity and Awareness Socks as well as the related charity partner.
|
Sock |
Charity Partner |
Amount Given Per Sale |
|
Autism Society of America (Nassau/Suffolk Chapter) and Autism Speaks |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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and |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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and |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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ACLD (Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities) is a Long Island-based not-for-profit agency dedicated to helping people with developmental disabilities and their families. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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We created our Ability Revolution Socks to highlight the work and mission of Ability Revolution, a nonprofit that advances authentic inclusion for people of all abilities in workplaces, educational institutions, and communities. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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These socks were developed with the National Down Syndrome Society to support their fight against Law Syndrome. “Down syndrome does not hold me back, antiquated laws do.” |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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The Special Olympics often sponsor Polar Plunge as fundraising events. We want these socks to add to the fun. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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These socks honor Barbara Bush and President Bush’s devotion to his wife and her support of literacy. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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These socks are in tribute to John’s “sock buddy”, President George H.W. Bush. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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These socks support Gigi’s Playhouse in New York City. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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The LuMind [Research Down Syndrome] Foundation’s four priorities are: preventing Alzheimer’s onset, improving cognition, developing gene therapies and advancing understanding |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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Made in collaboration with the P.S. I Love You Day Organization, these socks were designed to help raise awareness for the problems associated with bullying and mental health. |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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The LuMind [Research Down Syndrome] Foundation’s four priorities are: preventing Alzheimer’s onset, improving cognition, developing gene therapies and advancing understanding |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
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Animal Rescue Pets Adopt Don't Shop Socks
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North Shore Animal League America is the world’s largest no-kill and animal rescue and adoption organization |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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North Shore Animal League America is the world’s largest no-kill and animal rescue and adoption organization |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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North Shore Animal League America is the world’s largest no-kill and animal rescue and adoption organization |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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North Shore Animal League America is the world’s largest no-kill and animal rescue and adoption organization |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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North Shore Animal League America is the world’s largest no-kill and animal rescue and adoption organization |
10% from the sale of every pair |
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10% from the sale of every pair |
Nothing makes us happier than giving back to charity. We work together with our charity partners to help raise awareness for their causes. Then we report on this activity for our customers. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you.
If you have questions or would like to comment on this report, please contact Mark X. Cronin at mxcronin@JohnsCrazySocks.com.
