FORT SMITH — Teter’s Sock Drawer, an annual campaign to collect socks for homeless shelters, began in May as the survivors of Augustina “Teter” Lovoi, aunt of 28 nieces and nephews, 81 great-nieces and nephews and 14 great-great-nieces and nephews, looked for a way to honor her memory.
They remembered their maiden Aunt Teter, who died May 10 at age 85, as someone who had a talent for doing little things for others that often yielded life-changing results and who taught them all the importance of giving.
“At Christmas, Aunt Teter would give us a pair of socks, each one chosen with love,” niece Susan Taylor of Fort Smith said. “We all went to Immaculate Conception School, and each of us wore our ‘Teter socks’ to school on the first day back from vacation. We had so much fun checking each other’s socks out and seeing what she’d gotten for all of us.”
During Lovoi’s final illness, family members helped plan her funeral and came up with the idea of asking people to bring socks for the Golden Rule Clothes Closet, a Fort Smith store that collects and distributes clothing and household goods to the homeless and families in need.
“When we spoke to Clyde Chaney, the director of the Clothes Closet, we told him we didn’t want to overwhelm him,” niece Julie French of Michigan said. “He said, ‘Overwhelm me,’ explaining that socks are the greatest need of every charity for the homeless. People rarely donate socks when they donate used clothing, and many charities take their cash donations to buy socks to try to meet people’s needs.”
After Lovoi’s funeral, the family brought 512 pairs of socks to the Clothes Closet and made a decision to hold an annual campaign beginning each Christmas and ending on her birthday, Jan. 17.
“We set up a Facebook page, ‘Teter’s Sock Drawer,’ and designed a brochure,” French said. “We live all over Arkansas and in several other states, and we decided to hold our own local campaigns and collect socks for local charities in Aunt Teter’s name. Last summer I collected 1,752 pairs of socks for a homeless shelter in Boys Town, Neb. Each of us will launch our local campaigns this Christmas in our own way, and we hope it will eventually spread to communities all over the country.”
French designed a digital Christmas card that family members can send to everyone on their Christmas card list telling the story of Lovoi’s life and explaining how socks are one of the greatest needs for the poor and homeless.
“We thought that the post-Christmas season, when people have time to reflect on their blessings, was a good time to conduct our annual campaign,” she said. “And people can take advantage of post-Christmas sales and get more socks for their dollars.”
As young children, Aunt Teter’s nieces and nephews learned to associate her gifts of socks with love. The care with which she selected each pair of socks was an extension of all the ways she showed them love during the year — in their visits to her home and the trips and outings she took them on, including a few memorable visits to see the St. Louis Cardinals. After her death, they learned that she quietly supported many charities and requested that her home furnishings be donated to the Clothes Closet.
“Even when I was in my 20s I can recall getting my Teter socks and how amazing it felt to know I was so loved by her,” French said. “I hope that everyone who receives a pair of socks through our annual campaign will feel a little of the love that Teter’s socks brought us each year.”
In Fort Smith, donations of socks can be brought to the Golden Rule Clothes Closet. For information on where to donate socks in other Arkansas cities, send a message to “Teter’s Sock Drawer” on Facebook.
