The University of West Georgia’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) recently held its fifth annual sock drive in celebration of Older Americans Month. Students, alumni, and CDI staff delivered a total of 813 socks to four nursing homes in Carrollton—Carrollton Manor, Carrollton Nursing and Rehabilitation, the Oaks of Carrollton, and Pine Knoll Nursing and Rehabilitation—and Haralson Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haralson County.
UWG students are pictured with Pine Knoll Nursing and Rehabilitation Activities Director Amy Crumbley and the Carroll County Training Center.
This year’s sock drive was co-sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA), the Panhellenic Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Interfraternity Council, and the Black Student Alliance. The UWG Alumni Association and the newly established Multigreek Council gave additional support.
UWG students, faculty, and staff donated new socks to this meaningful venture. The staff at CDI was pleasantly surprised by the support given by the Carroll County Training Center (CCTC) whose clientele collected socks for the drive and were invited to deliver with UWG to Pine Knoll Nursing and Rehabilitation.
“Donated socks represented a wide array of choices for residents ranging from compression to argyle,” explained CDI Director Deirdre Haywood-Rouse. “Students took advantage of the opportunity to assist residents with a lively and competitive game of Bingo, sock distribution, or simply visiting. Many intergenerational connections were made. Echoes of appreciation were expressed by numerous residents for the sock donation.”
Older Americans Month has been celebrated in the month of May since 1963 under the Kennedy administration.
“Older Americans are often an under-utilized treasure offering an abundance of insight and expertise to the community,” Deirdre concluded. “Take some time to visit, listen, ponder, and absorb. You may just discover living history right where you are.”
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