P.S. I Love You Day this year takes place on Friday, February 10, 2023. It is a day to encourage people to share kindness and remind others and ourselves that mental health is just as important as physical health. People wear purple to celebrate P.S. I Love You Day.
Brooke and Jamie DiPalma created the P.S. I Love You Day to honor their father Joseph who committed suicide. The established P.S. I Love You Day on the second Friday of February to not only recall the loving man that their father was, but to spread love and kindness as an anti-dote to mental health struggles and bullying.
Last night, the Town of Babylon turned the lights at Town Hall purple and held an event to support P.S. I Love You Day and to recognize the work of the DiPalma family. They asked John Cronin to join them because John’s Crazy Socks makes P.S. I Love You Socks to support their organization. John helped give flowers to the DiPalma family as part of the ceremony.
John said, “I am honored to support the DiPalma family and P.S. I Love You Day. We should all treat people with kindness and respect and to support positive mental health.”
Brooke DiPalma said, “We are so happy that John’s Crazy Socks is supporting our efforts. We are grateful that John joined us this evening.”
Councilman Terence McSweeney, who organized the event, spoke to the crowd and said, “It was important that the Town recognize and support P.S. I Love You Day. The work performed by the DiPalma family is so valuable to so many. We loved having John Cronin from John’s Crazy Socks join us. They are an outstanding business in our town and have been so supportive of the work that Brooke and Jamie do.”
P.S. I Love You Socks
John’s Crazy Socks created P.S. I Love You Socks in 2019 to support P.S. I Love You Day. The purple and grey socks read P.S. I Love You” and on the heel of each sock is the message, “Be Proud of Who You Are.” These remind us all how precious life is and let people know they are never alone. John’s Crazy Socks donates 10 percent from the sale of these socks to P.S. I Love You Day as part of their Giving Back program.
John Cronin, co-founder and inspiration for John’s Crazy Socks, said, “We made the P.S. I Love You Socks to send a simple message: you are loved. We want everyone to feel loved and to know that they are not alone.”
Brooke DiPalma, said, “These socks help people celebrate P.S. I Love You Day. They spread a message of love and understanding and enable conversations that could lead to suicide prevention.”
The Origins of P.S. I Love You Day
On April 23, 2010, just one week after her fourteenth birthday, the DiPalma family experienced a tragedy. On that beautiful Friday morning, Brooke was dropped off at middle school by her father, Joseph DiPalma. Joey was a man who was always smiling, laughing, and was very involved in the community. On her way out of the car, her father said, “I Love You” and she said, “I Love You” back. Little did she know, only hours later, she would be taken out of school and told that her father committed suicide. Brought home to a scene nobody should ever see, she felt let down, lost, and unsure of where to turn.
Just one month and a day before the DiPalma family lost the glue that bonded their family, West Islip lost a high school senior to suicide also. Both these suicides brought the town together and made each person realize just how truly precious life is. However, the DiPalma family believes “Tragedy should not be the force for togetherness; togetherness should be the force that ends tragedies.”
Seven months later, as Brooke was thinking about what she had faced, she remembered the last three words her father said to her, “I Love You.” Brooke took those three words and with the help of her high school’s class club and family, she created P.S. I Love You Day.
It became very important to John’s Crazy Socks to support the P.S. I Love You Day mission. John’s Co-founder and father, Mark X. Cronin, explained, “This is a very personal issue for us. I have lost friends to suicide and understand the devastation it leaves behind and ache with the loneliness my lost friends must have felt. We hope these socks will add to the P.S. I Love You Day effort to let people know they are loved and not alone. We hope these socks will foster discussions of mental health and have us all reach out to our friends and loved ones.”
Brooke DiPalma says, “This is important work and we are thankful to have the support of John’s Crazy Socks. They have a mission to spread happiness and we have a mission to spread love. It seems like a perfect fit.”
About P.S. I Love You Day
P.S. I Love You Day has a mission to spread love to decrease bullying and promote mental health awareness. They strongly believe that by educating students earlier about mental health, this difficult conversation will be easier to discuss. On the second Friday of every February, they encourage communities to wear purple in order to foster kindness and a welcoming environment.
To find out more about the P.S. I Love You Foundation, you can visit their website at http://psiloveyouday.net or email P.S.ILoveYouDay@gmail.com
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 $550,000 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.
