December 2021 - Hailey Stevens - Service Coordinator
American Preparatory Academy students “Rock the Socks” for The Road Home donating 41,403 socks to benefit those experiencing homelessness this season.
Today, December 17th, 2021, Students from American Preparatory Academy delivered 41,403 socks to one of The Road Home’s Resource Centers in Salt Lake City. In December, our students have been feverishly collecting new and gently used socks for the "Rock the Socks" donation drive. Today, our students delivered these socks to The Road Home, a nonprofit social services agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front.
The Road Home has three resource centers, supporting approximately 800 people. The donations were delivered today to the Gail Miller Resource Center (242 W. Paramount Ave., Salt Lake City, UT 84115), and will be distributed across the three centers as needed.
American Prep students participate in a donation drive to benefit those in
need each year. These donation drives help our students realize the value of giving and serving their community. Our students participated in a sock donation drive known as "ROCK the SOCKS" this year. This program started almost ten years ago at APA and has become a phenomenal success in teaching our students the value of service and giving.
“Our APA kids love the “Rock the Socks” drive. Today, our students learned that just one person could make a difference. If one person brings a few pairs of socks, it can quickly add up to thousands. – Hailey Stevens, Service Coordinator at APA.
Below is a breakdown of our totals.
District Total: 41,403 total socks
Campus specific donations:
- West Valley 1 Campus – Goal: 1,000 Donated 3,631
- West Valley 2 Campus – Goal: 5,000 Donated 7,303
- Draper 1 Campus- Goal: 1,500 Donated 7,955
- Draper 2 Campus – Goal: 2,000 Donated 8,766
- Draper 3 Campus – Goal: 2,200 Donated 8,353
- Early Learning Center (Pre-K & Kindergarten) – Goal: 250 Donated: 900
- Salem Campus – Goal: 1,000 Donated: 4,495
Participation in the Rock the Socks Donation Drive is strictly optional; however, many of our students give, even when some of their families may be struggling as well. American Prep has two Title 1 schools located in West Valley City. These schools combined collected over 11,000 socks for those experiencing homelessness.
At American Prep, we teach our students to “Be a Builder,” which is someone who positively inspires others and serves their community. Each month, we spotlight a “Builder” theme. December’s theme is “Kigatsuku,” which means “looking for ways to serve others.” We believe this is an excellent time of the year to find ways to serve others, so we hold a donation drive every December. We are on a 3-year rotation, so we will have a canned food drive to support the Utah Food Bank next year. The following year, we will collect hygiene products for a donation drive that we call "Heroes for Hygiene."
Thank you to all of the families, friends, and neighbors who supported our students in this phenomenal drive.
About The Road Home - The Road Home is a private nonprofit social services agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front.
Please visit the website if you would like to help the Road Home or volunteer. Volunteers can serve as early as 12 years old when accompanied by an adult. Visit https://theroadhome.org/ to learn more.