Socks.

They are a comfort that we all too often take for granted. While there are always students who will prefer to wear flip flops through the winter months, foregoing the warmth that a nice pair of cotton socks brings, many Seattle residents can’t afford to go without these luxuries we wear on our feet.

This is why WashPIRG’s Hunger and Homeless campaign has decided to hold a sock drive competition to benefit Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission. The drive will continue through Friday, Nov. 21, and is coinciding with National Hunger Awareness week, which runs from Nov. 16 through the end of the drive.

“Used, old, new; as long as they don’t have holes and they’re clean we’ll be glad to take them,” said freshman Caitlin Margitan as she collected sock donations on the HUB lawn yesterday afternoon.

Margitan, an environmental studies major, became involved with WashPIRG early on this quarter, and is committing time over the next week to raise awareness for the issues homeless people in our community must face, especially as the winter months approach.

“We have a tent city [Nickelsville] so close by ... and the Ave is also where so many homeless youth tend to gather,” she said. “It gets people thinking about what those around us need, and what we can do right here on campus to help.”

Margitan said Seattle is the seventh most dangerous city for homeless people in the country, mostly because of the city’s rainy winter season that can cause health problems.

WashPIRG’s Hunger and Homeless campaign hopes to collect more than a thousand pairs of socks for the homeless and impoverished over the next week. According to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, more than 8,000 people in King County are homeless. They remain homeless for an average of eight months.

Junior Peter Teigen, also out on the HUB lawn, was enthusiastically encouraging passersby to participate in a sock-throwing competition as they walked by.

“Giving socks may not seem like much, but it gives us an opportunity to reach out and help in a positive way,” Teigen said. “So often I see people on the Ave wanting smokes or money, but I feel like this is a much more productive way to raise awareness and help them with their needs.”

Sophomore Irene Lee, one of the main organizers for the campaign agrees that the most important part of the campaign is changing the mindset of what’s required to help those in the local community.

“There are so many small things we can do to help,” Lee said. “We’re trying to enact bigger change by implementing these smaller steps.”

The group will be collecting donations from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays on the HUB lawn, and will also be available to collect on Fridays on the 2nd floor of the HUB from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

“Bring socks,” Margitan said. “Any pair helps.”

Reach reporter Casey Smith at news@dailyuw.com.