Forney ISD Cross Country Teams Join Together to Help Those in Need

The boys and girls Cross Country teams at Forney High School and North Forney High School recently worked together with Soul Pancake’s Kid President to challenge people to perform a small act of kindness towards homeless people during the month of October. With this challenge, October became known as ‘Socktober’ to the team members.

The cross country teams from Forney High School and North Forney High School kicked off their unified project to collect and donate new socks to Forney Community Ministries so they can be distributed to families in Forney. Both high school teams joined together to serve the needs of the community of Forney and dubbed their project ‘A Race Against the Cold’.

“These kids, from separate, rival high schools, came together as one with a concerted effort to help those in need,” said Forney High School Cross Country Coach Sandy Cook. “Together the teams have collected more than 1,700 pairs of socks which will be donated to local non-profit organizations in our community.”

On October 30, the students dropped off the donated socks to Forney Community Ministries for distribution to families within Forney.

“The collection of something as simple as socks for others opens your eyes of how you can help someone who is struggling,” noted Belle Enriquez, a sophomore at Forney High School.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness identified approximately 553,742 people in January 2017 living within the United States experiencing homelessness. Texas has an estimate of 23,548 people either on the street or in a shelter with 1,309 of that number being children and youth. One of the main needs is socks.

“There is more to life than just thinking about me,” stated Mia Alfano, a sophomore at North Forney High School. “This allows us to focus on the community and making a difference in people’s lives.”

With the success of ‘Soctober’, the cross country teams from Forney High School and North Forney High School are looking forward to continuing with additional acts of kindness throughout the year. Forney ISD is currently holding a ‘Pack the Pantry’ food drive to benefit the Forney Food Pantry.

“Uniting our teams has allowed us the opportunity to meet new people,” said Yabkal Demelash, a senior a North Forney High School. “But I think the key is that we are all working together to help our entire town.”