Our Students Have the Drive to Serve!

At St. Agnes and St. Dominic, Christ is visible to us through our students every day, especially in their faithfulness to our Dominican Pillar of Service. This commitment to service is evident from our littlest Stars and Suns to our Senior class.

One annual campus service project, the Socktober drive for Manna House of Memphis, recently caught the attention of St. Dominic fourth grader Gabe Sain. He decided to take initiative to do more than just buy a few pairs of socks. With the help of his mother Stephanie, Gabe created a video and an Amazon wish list which his mother posted on her Facebook page asking for sock donations.

As socks started to pour in, Gabe’s daily chant became “No cold feet!” When the donation deadline arrived, Gabe had collected over 200 pairs of socks. To date he has collected 415 pairs, and last we heard, socks were still coming in! Gabe has been raised in a family devoted to helping those in need. He began volunteering with his mom in support of Special Olympics Greater Memphis when he was just seven years old.

But the story doesn’t end there . . .

SAA senior Elaina Fik started the Socktober drive when she was in fourth grade. She and her mother had been wondering what might happen with the drive after she graduated, when suddenly this natural transition appeared. Gabe was a fourth grader, and he obviously had a heart for service! They met Gabe, and with the support of his fellow students, teachers, and family, he will now take the lead on the Socktober drive.

Elaina shared, “I am thrilled to know that I will have someone to pass Socktober on to next year, to continue the wonderful work it does for our community! It also means so much to me that Gabe is in the same grade that I was when I originally started the project. I think about how much I've grown through the years of putting on Socktober and all the changes and advancements I've made as I've grown. I cannot wait to see how Gabe can improve upon this project even more!”

Over the past nine years, Socktober has collected over 20,000 sock donations to support the less fortunate in the Memphis community. Socks are consistently the most requested item in homeless shelters and missions.

Sending our students out in to the world with a keen sense of social responsibility and leadership skills ensures that they will contribute to making the world a better place. Take a tip from our friend Gabe and step up if you see an opportunity to help those in need. Don’t get cold feet! Just do it!

Pictured below: Gabe with his first round of donations. Elaina in sixth grade with donated socks.