The third annual Stockton Cares Coat, Blanket, and Sock Drive distributed donated items on Saturday, November 14th to over 1,500 needy men, women and children from the Stockton community. This drive raised a record 12,500 items to be donated, surpassing the 10,000 items collected from 2014.
Organizing partners included the Stockton Record, United Way, St Mary’s Dining Room, SMG Stockton, the Stockton Fire Department and Professional 456, and Tim Ulmer. With nearly 30 drop locations in and around Stockton, various companies got involved with the donation process, including the Bank of Stockton and seven branches, BAC and two branches, University of the Pacific Athletics, the San Joaquin County Office of Education, Burke Optometry, Western Southern Insurance, National University, and Comcast.
As in years past, individuals got into the spirit of the drive, and started their own collections to help boost collection numbers. The largest amongst them was Tim Ulmer, who specifically started collecting socks, and collected over 3,000 pairs of brand new socks. Dr. Derron Lee of Midtown Optometry also collected over 1,000 pairs of socks. Cumulus radio stations, including Kat Country, organized a drive at Weberstown Mall and collected several thousand items.
The week of the drive, over 7,000 items were donated, including over 5,000 pairs of socks, and items were being delivered up until 5pm on November 13th, the night before the distribution. The day of the drive, many had come from around Stockton, including several individuals who had camped out to ensure they would get items. Over 60 volunteers, many of them Stockton high school students, volunteered to help organize the donated items as well as helped direct those in need the day of the event.
In all, the Stockton community donated:
· 7,500 pairs of brand new socks
· 3,750 coats
· 1,250 blankets
For more information on the Stockton Cares Coat, Blanket, and Sock Drive, or to get involved for 2016, please contact Chris Kay at 209 373 1722 or
[email protected].