WAVE Stacey McGurk has found a way to help the homeless of her community! Inspired by Pablo Picasso's famous quote, "Artists copy, masters steal," she recently found a way to help the homeless of her community by mirroring an existing outreach concept with one of her own. Stacey, also known as "Little Voice" on the WAVES and EBTL message boards, imitated the example of a charity called "One Warm Coat" to form a charitable effort she calls "One Warm Pair of Socks". One Warm Coat collects warm coats from individuals and redistributes them on Christmas Eve to homeless people on the streets and in shelters. Stacey's idea is to do the same with warm socks. Her goal is to purchase one hundred pairs of new, thick socks and wrap them neatly as gifts for distribution at two homeless shelters and on the streets of San Francisco and nearby San Rafael on Christmas Eve.

Stacey purposefully set a goal she feels is achievable for her first time coordinating such a project. She has located a supplier of warm socks from whom she can purchase them for $16.50 per half dozen. This means that individuals who would like to donate a pair of socks for a homeless person through Stacey's outreach can do so for only $2.75!

Stacey’s plan is to deliver the gifts on Christmas Eve with a couple of friends who have agreed to help her. The gifts will be wrapped in gold foil and tied with ribbon, and it is her heartfelt intention that they be delivered with dignity, honor and grace so that the unwritten message of love they carry will be felt by each of their recipients. She hopes to talk with the homeless as she distributes the gifts and remind them that they are loved by God and many others. Additionally, Stacey hopes to continue her sock outreach and grow it even further in the years to come.

What a great way to let the homeless know they are not forgotten on Christmas Eve, but that their needs and well being are important to the other members of their community! Thanks, Stacey, for sharing your outreach efforts with us. Your project is an inspirational example of Christmas spirit and how one person truly can make a difference in his or her community.