By Kyle Polillo
Saturated socks can be an awfully uncomfortable feeling. Morristown High School senior Aidan Hyer learned that after a rainy football game.
“I had to sit on the bus with wet socks,” said Hyer, who played defensive end and right tackle.
“It just made me think about how people who are just in the streets in the rain… they have to deal with that until their only pair of socks dry. I couldn’t imagine doing that.”
Hyer’s soggy experience sparked his idea to conduct a winter sock drive. He teamed with nourish.NJ, a Morristown nonprofit, to collect more than 1,200 pairs of socks last year for those in need.
“The director at nourish told me the socks were gone instantly…it really showed me how many people are in need, especially in Morristown.”
Hyer says he has been volunteering with nourish since he was in the 8th grade, collecting an estimated $12,000 worth of items.
Now, he is organizing his third donation drive, for the winter. So far, he has gathered umbrellas, sweatpants, hoodies, and t-shirts. He had asked the director of volunteer services at nourish, Heidi Griffee, what the biggest needs were.
“It’s a satisfying feeling to make a change in people’s lives and help them out when they need it,” Hyer said
He used the app Nextdoor and his mother Debra Mulkeen’s Facebook page to collect the items.
Mulkeen is proud of her son’s initiative.
“You can encourage your kids but they have to find their own passion to do something that they want to do, whether it’s volunteering or sports,” she said.
“For him, it was being involved in the community and supporting people that face clothing or food insecurity. Being and helping at nourish, you see the amount of people that are in need.”
Hyer hopes to inspire other teens. His items will be donated throughout December and January.
“I want to show other people that it really isn’t as difficult as it may seem to be able to help out others in the community,” Hyer said.
Even small things, he said, can make a big difference.
People wishing to contribute may do so here or here.
Correction: A prior version of this story misstated Heidi Griffee’s title. She is director of volunteer services at nourish.nj.