WalkUpSocks

Imagine a world where people experiencing homelessness can change their socks every day. - Chief Joy Officer Thomas age 5.

Our mission is to create a vending machine solution - meeting people experiencing homelessness where they are - to deliver socks… and a smile.

“Dad, I’m starting a company giving homeless people socks” It all started November 8th 2019 when Thomas age (5.5) learned that people experiencing homelessness don’t have clean socks to wear.

  • Founded in 2019 by a five year old
  • 10 partnerships formed
  • 356+ pairs of socks acquired
  • $1735+ raised

We’ve just started this mission in November of 2019 but we think our team is onto something. Imagine a world where people experiencing homelessness can change their socks everyday!



Deep Dive Into Our Mission

We are challenging the current sock distribution model. We seek answers to the following questions:

What if people experiencing homelessness could change their socks everyday?

How can people experiencing homelessness get a fresh pack of socks every week?

How can we bring joy to homeless people?

How can we educate our communities about this important need?

Can we create a sock ecosystem that launders socks and redistributes them to those in need?

Can our solution help people experiencing homelessness receive other foot related health services?

Partners

Thomas doesn’t have a sense of real world barriers to entry, and so with his “we can do anything” attitude he’s captivated the attention of major partners and they are tearing down the real barriers faster than we could have ever imagined. The power of networking is on full display here! We are looking for the following partners: vending machines, electronics supplier, IoT, metal fabrication, commercial laundry, financial backers.

Thomas’ vision is quickly taking shape thanks to all of the partners who are donating time, money, and resources to help him. Thomas doesn’t have a sense of real world barriers to entry, and so with his “we can do anything” attitude he’s captivated the attention of major partners and they are tearing down the real barriers faster than we could have ever imagined. The power of networking is on full display here!

We are continually in search of more partners. Please reach out to us via socks@WalkUpSocks.com if you are interested in partnering with us.

  • Mask suppliers cloth or disposable
  • Vending machine (RPD Corp Model RCS20MDB)
  • Electronics supplier
  • Metal fabrication
  • Commercial laundry
  • Financial backers

Pre COVID we were gaining traction quickly. In the winter of 2020 we deployed our first socks through a sock drive with our partners at the Winona State University’s Children’s Center. In the spring of 2020 we acquired a vending machine, and in the summer of 2020 we started fabricating the sock return unit.

Current Partners

Winona State University Children's Center

Supporting us with space and resources to create joyful artwork that is packed with clean socks as well as providing a network to connect with the community to provide education about homelessness.

SULLY BADA

Embedded systems engineer designing our vending control system.

FILLING THE GAPS GROUP

Dwayne Voegeli - Connecting us with the organizations in Winona, MN providing care to homeless people.

WINONA STATE MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS DEPARTMENT

Silas Bergen, Chris Malone - Providing data analysis and statistics around homelessness.

WINONA STATE COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Eric Wright - Mentoring our embedded systems engineer.

BRIDGES HEALTH WINONA

Jen Timm and Her Amazing Staff - Pilot and research partner helping us explore how our solution might help their organization reach more homeless people with care they need.

BOMBAS SOCK COMPANY

Provided 250 pairs of their amazing donation socks to our cause!

GOADVNTR INC.

Brian Kugel - Provides partial funding, engineering, design, and operations help.

STARTUP WINONA STATE

Will Kitchen - Providing funding, mentor-ship, and network connections to both industry and community to further our mission.

Progress and Press

We post news worthy updates here.

COVID-19 Update

We are still working hard here at WalkUpSocks. We’re safe at home but still continuing our mission. We’re expanding our sock mission to provide face masks to people experiencing homelessness. We are seeking face mask donations or low-cost masks that we can include in sock packs. Please reach out to us if you can help us source masks.

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