A Hurricane, a Cross Country Runner and 3,000 Pairs of Socks

Socks are so much a part of our everyday existence that we simply take them for granted. Pick a pair out of your sock drawer that matches the outfit you will wear today or the mood you are in or today’s occasion and put them on. No problem. However, when a natural disaster like Hurricane Helene comes through your community, your sock drawer, along with everything else you had in your room, your house, your community could be gone – for good.

Seventh-grader Maggie Moore did not lose her sock drawer to the hurricane, but she knew lots of people near her home in Greeneville, Tennessee, who did. The devastation from the flooding of the Nolichucky River affected a vast area in eastern Tennessee, an area that Moore knows well. One of her friends had her home filled with mud, ruining everything inside (including that sock drawer). Maggie’s grandmother was visiting the area from Texas and had to be evacuated from her campground and some folks did not get out fast enough and had to be rescued. Maggie saw and felt the destruction firsthand.

As a multi-sport athlete and excellent student at Greeneville Middle School where her mom is the sixth-grade social studies teacher and her dad is the school resource officer, Maggie wondered what she could do to help and support all of the local folks affected by this disaster. Being in the middle of cross country season (she also plays soccer and basketball, and runs track), she knows the value of having a good pair of socks, not just for running, but for everyday wear. Socks were easy and inexpensive for people to donate, and they are something everyone from babies to grandmas needs and use every day. And what better community to know the value of a good pair of socks than the state’s cross country teams representing runners from middle schools and high schools across Tennessee.

With her participation in the state championship coming up soon, Maggie reached out to MileSplit TN, the online site used by that competition for ratings, rankings and other cross country information. MileSplit TN put out the word that Maggie (and her parents) would be there, collecting donations of socks to then distribute to those affected by Helene. On the way to the meet, Maggie and her family shared their estimates on how many pairs of socks would be donated. The consensus was somewhere around 200 – an amount that would easily fit in the family van.

Well, the family van filled quickly as did the coach’s van and then a family truck. The cross country community responded to Maggie’s plea for donations with 2,500 pairs of socks. Socks for babies, socks for teens, socks for grandparents, as well as socks for work, school, play and, of course, running. But when they arrived at home with the three vehicles full of socks, they found more sock donations on their porch. People who wanted to help that were not at the state meet had purchased socks online and had them delivered to the Moore’s home. The boxes were stacked on the porch and have continued to arrive, even weeks after the initial effort.

Getting the socks to those that need them the most involved packaging them into boxes, mostly from the Amazon shipments, with each box receiving a variety of sock sizes and types. Those packages were then sent to schools, churches and local charitable organizations to give those groups the opportunity to select who would receive them, thus making sure that the socks reached those who were the most in need. Even the local Book Bus, the state’s traveling bookmobiles, were used to share the socks. Maggie’s family pitched in to help box up the socks, with some boxes packed to match specific requests from the distribution groups.

Besides the quantity of socks donated and the accolades that have followed, Maggie was most surprised by the notes that came with so many of the donated socks. Folks shared their appreciation for her efforts, thanking her for making this happen, and shining a light on her as an example for other young people, athletes and non-athletes to follow. The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), the group that governs the state’s school sports, agreed and nominated Maggie for the NFHS Student-Athlete Award of Excellence, which she received in October 2024. The TSSAA noted “We encourage all student-athletes to follow Maggie’s example and consider how they might contribute to their communities.”

As the sock donations continue and other groups are selected to help with the distribution, Maggie hopes to find time to focus on the upcoming basketball season and continue to do well in school. And socks may just be the beginning. Besides making the sock drive an annual part of the cross country season, Maggie is looking into ways to get other donations to folks in need in her community – donations that might include food for both people and pets. Sometimes it’s not just the sock drawer that is empty.