Project Warm Feet 2022 sees 2,700 pairs of socks donated

Starting Dec. 1, Battlefield Park’s annual holiday charity drive, Project Warm Feet, kicked off.

However, the mission to collect socks began earlier than that.

According to Phillip Seyfrit, Battle of Richmond Visitors Center Curator, donations for Project Warm Feet started as early as October this year. Some donations have even arrived from out of state.

“People from out of town found what they consider a bargain on socks and asked if they could send them in. I said ‘absolutely!’ These people lived in Ohio,” Seyfrit said. “Most of our socks come in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But there are people from out of town that send them early, and that’s great, because they believe in this project and what we’re doing.”

For this year’s drive, approximately 2,700 pairs of socks were collected. They were delivered to the Salvation Army on Wednesday. From there, the socks will be distributed locally and around other areas in need.

“This is our most relatable event. Not everyone is a Civil War person — and that’s fine — but everyone gets cold. Everyone understands that when your feet get cold, you’re cold all over. This is an easy way to help,” Seyfrit said.
 

The Richmond Rotary Club, the Daughters of the American Revolution, several churches, and other civic groups were among those that donated to Project Warm Feet this year.

For their part, Project Warm Feet is much more than just a winter event for the Salvation Army. Socks gathered are sent to those in need all year round.

“We have different things we use them for throughout the year. Right now, in the wintertime, there’s always people that are walking around cold and need them. We talked yesterday about hooking up with some of the sheriff’s office, police departments, and stuff like that to keep these socks in their cruisers in case they need them. We also gave away some of last year’s socks to flood victims in eastern Kentucky,” said Salvation Army Captain Kevin Justice.

On a more local level, the Salvation Army will also send socks to both Room at the Inn in Richmond and Room at the Inn in Berea and Madison Home. Clients of the Salvation Army that come in on a daily basis and some of the unhoused in the county also receive some of the socks.
 

According to Justice, 789 children received socks through Project Warm Feet this year.

While this year’s number came short of 2021’s record breaking 4,207 pairs of socks donated, Seyfrit noted there were several large individual donations in 2021.

Among the supporters of the event is Madison County Judge Executive Reagan Taylor.

“This just shows the importance of serving others and serving those that are in need. As community leaders, whether you’re in my position as an elected official or an employee as Phillip (Seyfrit) is, you have to have a servant’s heart. This goes to show that we have many people in our community and in our state, and in our nation that that have a servant’s heart. They want to give back and help people in need,” Taylor said.Taylor also praised Seyfrit, noting the event started with him back in 2014.

“I wanna thank Phillip and his leadership. This is his idea. “The vision, I think ,was getting more people in our visitor’s center and showing off the battlefield, but at the same time it’s giving back to others. Phillip took this upon himself and you see what it’s turned into,” Taylor said.