Unique, custom socks designed by children affected by homelessness to benefit Vogel Alcove
Vogel Alcove, an early childhood education and Parent Opportunity Center that is working to Break the Cycle of Poverty for homeless children and their families in Dallas, has partnered with DeadSoxy, the new standard in premium dress socks, in creating three unique, custom sock designs to represent and benefit the nonprofit.
The designs originated as a contest for children at Vogel Alcove to design a custom sock and craft a story of why the design was created. The winning socks are produced and sold by DeadSoxy and 50% of all profits from the socks are directly donated to Vogel Alcove’s programs and services. The efforts of DeadSoxy also help educate a new audience to the mission and services of Vogel Alcove.
Vogel Alcove provides educational, developmental and therapeutic services to children and families affected by homelessness. Using its “Two-Generational” approach to solving homelessness, services are provided to client families through the early childhood education program and Parent Opportunity Department. All of these services are provided for free, in a safe and nurturing school environment, in which the families can learn and grow together.
Working with Vogel Alcove’s School Age program, DeadSoxy’s founder, Jason Simmons, helped design a contest in which all of the school age kids would participate in a project to design a sock and write a story about their design. More than 20 designs were drawn and submitted and whittled down to a top 5. A voting contest was created and the top three designs were then digitized by the DeadSoxy team and developed.
The three winners were:
1. Fox and Sprinkles - “I wanted to be creative and make sprinkles rain from the sky, and I like it because the fox’s name is Sprinkles. Real life is cool, but kind of boring. On my sock there’s a world where it rains sprinkles. Sprinkles go on cupcakes and cakes, and sprinkles are a treat. I wanted my sock to be a treat.” - Janessa, Age 7.
2. Musical Notes - “I just really love music!! That’s all!!” (laughing hysterically) - Julius, Age 12
3. Superhero - “This is a kid superhero, who is actually standing on the ground. But, in his mind, he’s flying in the clouds. Superheroes don’t have to have special powers, they just have to help people. Like people who save a cat, or people who are policemen, or just being kind to others.” AnaLaura, Age 12
The socks are available for purchase through the DeadSoxy website. 50% of the proceeds are donated to Vogel Alcove. The socks retail for $20. Link to purchase socks: https://deadsoxy.com/vogel-alcove/
About Vogel Alcove:
Karen R. Hughes is President & CEO of Vogel Alcove and John C. Wander is chair of the Board of Directors.
Vogel Alcove is a 501c3 nonprofit agency which provides therapeutic early childhood services, school-age programs and family support services for homeless children ages six weeks to 12 years old, and their families.
Fueled by extensive research from the Casey Foundation, Vogel Alcove features “two-generation” approach to support homeless children and their parents. Through this strategic initiative, Vogel Alcove has committed to ensuring that our work truly helps homeless families break the cycle of poverty. These services are offered through the Parent Opportunity Department and include one-on-one counseling from a team of licensed clinical social workers, as well as Job Ready, Career Ready, and Support System programming in the Parent Opportunity Center lab.
Since 1987, the agency has served more than 16,000 Dallas-area homeless children. We’re on a mission to help young children, and their families, overcome the lasting and traumatic effects of homelessness. It is our vision that every child in our community has a home, a self-sufficient family and a foundation for success in school and life.
Details about DeadSoxy:
At DeadSoxy, we know our socks might not change the world, but we're confident they could change your life. Bring your feet the comfort they deserve.
Smart design, premium fabrics, superior socks. That’s it. Gone are the days of traditional socks. Whether it’s a dress sock or a no-show sock, It’s time to get the base layer right. The difference is in the details. It’s all about the feeling you get when wearing DeadSoxy.
In addition to having an incredible name, DeadSoxy has a couple of honorable missions. The first: to give the people a sock that won’t stretch, develop holes, or — crime of crimes — slip off your heel while you’re just minding your own business walking. This it accomplished by creating no-show and dress socks for men and women with upcycled poly-yarn and bamboo. “We just want to be your favorite pair of socks,” says Jason Simmons, who launched Dallas-based DeadSoxy in May of 2015. Since then, the company has been featured in gift guides for Forbes and Reader’s Digest, and was just recently awarded Fashion Group International of Dallas’ Rising Star Award for menswear.
Details about Jason Simmons - Founder of DeadSoxy
“I’m originally from a small farm town in the Mississippi Delta. Clarksdale, Mississippi, is known as the birthplace of the blues music, and in all honesty, it’s about as far from “style and fashion” as you can get. The closest I came to design and apparel was wrestling with my brothers in a trailer of cotton while my dad’s tractor towed us to the gin. On the farm, “fashion” meant function, durability, and value: A pair of jeans that would last more than one season and boots that didn’t give you blisters. I bring that same function and value based thinking to my design today.”
#1 Hottest Startup for 2019 goes to another phenomenal Dallas-based sock company, DeadSoxy! DeadSoxy started with one question: “Why was no one getting a basic men’s essential right?” The mission behind DeadSoxy is that socks don’t have to be a staple, boring wardrobe item, and the goal of the company is creating socks that people love to wear. They’ve built their own high-performance fabric that never slips or falls, is affordable, and never shrinks. They carry both men’s and women’s socks, and they carry several accessories like laces and pocket squares. They are a company that stands firmly behind their product, and their passion and quality makes DeadSoxy’s socks easy to sell. They too believe in their product so whole-heartedly that they offer a money back guarantee on all of their styles.