Out of the steaming pile of fun that the events of 2020 brought into our lives, a group of Washington State-based restoration contractors hatched a hair-brained idea to start an annual NEW sock-raising competition. These well-intentioned do-gooders thought they might have a little fun and do a bit of good in their local communities; they called the event The DYOJO SOCKTember.
The SOCKTember Idea & 2020 Results
The idea was simple, keep in touch with peers, clients, vendors, and community partners by banding together in teams to see who could raise the most socks for their chosen local charities. With short notice and minimal traditional fan-faire or media coverage, we were able to raise over 5,500 NEW socks and donated those to local charities selected by the individual teams. The Sisters for Socks, led by Lindsey Ward (Reliable Contents Services) and Sarah Roberts (COIT/Superior Restoration).
The SOCKTember Need
Why socks you may ask? Well, if the golden rule tells us to treat others the way we would want to be treated, who doesn’t love a NEW pair of socks? The answer is everyone. It turns out that NEW socks are also among the highest requested items of need for local charities. Every team reported that when they delivered their haul of socks to a local organization the reception was heartwarming and energized our restorers to return year after year to compete again.
The SOCKTember Growth
Last year, we grew from four local teams in Washington State to 39 teams in 2 countries. The 2021 haul exploded to over 66,000 pairs of NEW socks donated, collected, and distributed to local charities. The competition between teams was much closer with 2nd place losing by only 4 pairs of socks.
SOCKTember 2021 Highlights & Results:
15 of the 39 teams raised over 1,000 pairs of NEW socks
Team No Show, led by Brandi Hawthorne of Office Services by Brandi was the Rookie of the Year with 3,503 pairs
Team Culture Sock, led by Elan Pasmanick of Born to Repair, won the Out of the Box Award for raising 1,030 pairs of new shoes for kids
On Side Restoration based in Canada participated company-wide and collectively raised nearly 35,000 pairs
Those DANG Sisters for Socks won once again, back-to-back champions, with 8,506 pairs of socks raised!
Announcing SOCKTember 2022
If you are wondering how you can get involved with The DYOJO SOCKTember 2022 3rd Annual NEW Sock Raising Competition, you are asking the right question. THIS is your opportunity to get in on the action. If we are going to maintain our momentum, we will need to raise over 100,000 pairs of NEW socks. You can START a local sock-raising team, and take your shot at de-throning the Sisters team, or you can JOIN an existing team. Check out the website to review the SOCKTember 2022 Team Captain Informational Flyer.
SOCKTember 2022 TIMELINE:
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
SOCKTember informational meeting at our local networking event for PNW-based insurance claims professionals, The Fellowship of Construction Knowledge & Entrepreneurial Development (FoCKED) hosted by back-to-back winner Reliable Contents Services (RCS) in Tukwila, WA
Please register your team by Tuesday, August 23, 2022 by contacting Jon Isaacson, ARES Restoration (Puyallup, WA) and The DYOJO Podcast – iz@thedyojo.com
Thursday, September 1, 2022
SOCKTember 2022 BEGINS!
Friday, October 21, 2022
The SOCKTember 2022 Winner will be announced LIVE at the PNW Restorers 2nd Annual Costume Dance Party hosted by Reliable Content Services (RCS) in Tukwila, WA
