Thornhill girls on mission to help GTA’s homeless this winter

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 12, 2015
By Simone Joseph

Carly and Charley saw them when they went to concerts together.

They saw them when they attended Leafs games.

They saw people stuck in the cold with nowhere to go.

“We see a lot of homeless people. We feel bad for them,” Carly said. “We always gave them food.”

Carly Goldhar and Charley Rangel are both only 10 years old, so what could they do about such an enormous issue as homelessness?

As it turns out, a great deal.

These girls have embarked on a mission they hope will help the homeless, providing them some extra warmth.

Their mission involves socks. Mismatched socks.

“When you have warm feet, it makes your whole body warm,” Carly said.

Socks are the second most important item needed at homeless shelters, after food, she explains.

The girls call it the Odd-Sock Project.

Together, they have created their first annual sock drive.

Every house has single socks, Charley says. Their goal is to collect 5,000 socks.

“We won’t stop until we reach 5,000 socks,” Charley says.

The Thornhill youngsters have known each other since they were two years old and they attend the same Thornhill elementary school.

The girls will collect the odd socks and transform them into pairs.

Once the bins are full and sorted, they will be donating the socks to homeless shelters and outreach centres throughout York Region and Toronto.

The girls have collected about 300 socks already. People have been dropping off socks at the girls’ houses and at school.

“They are very driven, says Lori Goldhar, Carly’s mother. “They set a goal. When they reach 5000, they keep going. They feel no end to this.”

The girls also have project ambassadors at different schools.

“They are only 10 and they are already drawn to make a difference as a role model to other children. It is wonderful to see this,” Goldhar said.

The girls have received a lot of support.

“They have such overwhelming support from the community. It has driven them to do more,” Goldhar said.

Next item on their list: gloves.

The girls want to collect single gloves and expand their mission of warmth.

Carly’s older sisters plan to bring a glove drive to high school and Charley’s older brother plans to get involved, too.

Goldhar hopes the project will venture into Toronto and maybe spread beyond Canada one day.