Yorkshire Building Society launches '˜Socktober'

Yorkshire Building Society colleagues in Burgess Hill are asking the community to donate new pairs of socks and other items to help support homeless people.

The campaign is part of the society’s charity partnership with End Youth Homelessness (EYH) and to raise awareness of World Homeless Day on Wednesday October, 10.

The society is relaunching its month-long Socktober appeal throughout October due to the impact of the campaign last year.

Donations of new pairs of socks, toiletries and interview clothes plus other items such as woolly hats, gloves, scarves, can be made at the Burgess Hill branch, on Church Walk.

Cassandra Green, manager of the Burgess Hill branch of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “This is our second Socktober campaign and we are hoping to make it as sock-cessful as last year. This year as well as donations of socks, we are also asking for toiletries, interview clothes, woolly hats, gloves and scarves. We’re really proud of our partnership with End Youth Homelessness and providing help for young people in need. Thanks to donations from people in Burgess Hill and all over the UK we have been able to help 125 young people into their own rented homes.

“The money that is raised funds a bespoke Rent Deposit Scheme which provides young people access to a deposit guarantee home essentials grants and practical help for living independently. I would like to thank everyone who has supported us so far and would ask people to donate what they can to help us give homeless young people a chance to build a successful future.”

The branch is also raising money for EYH and is asking the public to support Socktober by making a donation to the campaign and posting a picture of themselves online with their favourite socks on 10 October with the hashtag #socktober.

An estimated 86,000 young people in the UK are homeless and, according to latest figures, 33 young people in Mid Sussex received some homelessness support from their local authority last year.