John’s Crazy Socks Announces the Winner of the First Annual “Autism Can Do” Scholarship
John’s Crazy Socks has announced that Garret Nichols, 19, of Clinton, Arkansas, has won the First Annual “Autism Can Do” Scholarship. John’s Crazy Socks created the “Autism Can Do” Scholarship as part of its Giving Back Program and its mission to show what people can do when given a chance.
Upon hearing that he won the scholarship, Mr. Nichols said he was overcome with joy. “I’m so happy right now. I had a lot of hope and good vibes.” He will use the scholarship to attend Inclusion Films School, a program in California that teaches filmmaking to people with developmental disabilities. Mr. Nichols has already attended the Joey Travolta Summer Film Camp to hone his skills.
John Cronin, a young man with Down Syndrome who founded John’s Crazy Socks with his Dad, says, “We are excited for Garrett that he won this scholarship. His dream is to attend film school and make movies and this scholarship will help him make that dream come true.”
The John’s Crazy Socks ”Autism Can Do” Scholarship presents a $3,000 scholarship to a person on the autism spectrum in the United States to use at a college or trade school. John’s Crazy Socks works every day to show what is possible when you give someone a chance. Many of our colleagues are on the autism spectrum and they do extraordinary work. We are committed to supporting people on the autism spectrum. That’s why we are excited to sponsor the John’s Crazy Socks “Autism Can Do” Scholarship.
To win the scholarship, Mr. Nichols submitted a personal statement and designed a sock. His winning sock design depicted circuit boards and computers borne from his work with technology. The inspiration for his sock design came from a story Garrett heard as a child about alleged Time Traveler, John Titor, and how he traveled back to 1975 to retrieve an IBM 5100 computer.
John’s Crazy Socks will hold a scholarship presentation ceremony in Arkansas at a later date. At that time, John and Mark X. Cronin, the co-founders, will present Mr. Nichols with his scholarship as well as a dozen of the socks he designed.
John’s Crazy Socks “Autism Can Do” Scholarship will award $3,000 to a person on the Autism spectrum residing in the United States. This person must also be attending or will be attending an accredited college, university, or trade school. The application is hosted by the innovative firm, ScholarJet, which provides a web platform for action-based scholarship programs.
About John’s Crazy Socks
John’s Crazy Socks is a father-son venture inspired by John Lee Cronin, a young man with Down syndrome, and his love of colorful and fun socks, or what he calls his “crazy socks.” We're on a mission to spread happiness.
John’s Crazy Socks is a social enterprise with both a social mission and a business mission. The company is built on four pillars:
- Inspiration and Hope: Showing what is possible when you give a person a chance. We hire people with differing abilities, share videos to show what people can do, host school tours and school groups that come for work experience. We want the world to see what people with differing abilities can do. John’s Crazy Socks currently has 39 employees, 23 of whom have a differing ability.
- Giving Back: We donate 5 percent of our earnings to the Special Olympics and raise money through our Sock of the Month Club and charity and awareness socks for our charity partners like Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America, the National Down Syndrome Society, and the Williams Syndrome Association. We have raised over $240,000 for our charity partners and publish a monthly Giving Back Report.
- Socks You Can Love: We have over 2,300 different socks plus a Sock of the Month Club, gift boxes and gift bags. And we match the great socks with great service: we do same day shipping so most of our customers receive their socks within two days of ordering.
- Making It Personal: Every package gets a thank you note from John and some candy.
Please see our website for more information about our openings. For more information about John’s Crazy Socks, please visit our webpage, Facebook page, Instagram account or YouTube channel. You can also contact us at 631-760-5625 or email us at service@johnscrazysocks.com.
