On December 24, 2015, local actress and philanthropist, Princess Jackson, and her Sock Out Poverty organization, donated new pairs of socks and blankets to the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center & Red Shield Lodge – a men’s rehabilitation program and homeless shelter to benefit the influx of residents during the winter months.
“Socks and blankets are always a need here at Harbor Light, especially during the cold months,” stated Salvation Army’s Media Relations Manager Sybil Sanchez. “Getting a donation of 200 socks and blankets from Sock Out Poverty is a tremendous help for our residents and the people we serve in the Houston community.”
Princess arrived at Harbor Light with fifteen of her peers, who served as volunteers, carrying several bags of socks wrapped in Christmas paper and boxes of blankets.
“I like to wrap the socks so it feels like the people are receiving a Christmas gift,” said Princess. “It makes it more exciting to open.”
Although only 12 years old, Princess wants to partner with different companies to achieve her goal of “socking out poverty one pair of socks at a time” – all over the world. Having previously partnered with retail conglomerate Wal-Mart, Princess also recently partnered with Altitude Trampoline Park San Antonio to pass out over 4,000 socks to three of their local organization – Haven for Hope, San Antonio Children’s Shelter and San Antonio Rescue Mission.
“My goal is for everyone to have a pair of socks who needs them, and going to other cities to pass out socks is the right thing to do,” said Princess. “This year we went to Beaumont, San Antonio and came back to Houston to pass out socks to the Harbor Lights Center on Christmas Eve. Each year, Sock Out Poverty is getting one step closer to passing out socks all over the world.”
For the past three years Princess has made it her mission to donate this simple but essential article of clothing that so many take for granted.
“This is the first year we’ve added blankets along with passing out socks,” stated Phyllis Burton, Executive Director for Sock Out Poverty and mother of the young philanthropist. “The need for both is exponential and we are excited to give to an organization, such as the Harbor Lights Center, that does so much for the Houston community.”
To date, Jackson has passed out close to 7,000 pairs of socks since the inception of the nonprofit organization Sock Out Poverty, Inc. – a 501c3 that provides socks, clothing and other material goods to men, women, boys, and girls that are in need or less fortunate.