BROCKTON — Matthew Navin, a seventh grader at West Bridgewater Middle-Senior High School, said no one at his school ever talks about homelessness. But from a young age, he noticed people living on the street in places like Boston, Brockton and outside Massachusetts.
“He’s got a big heart,” said his father, Mark Navin. “It started off with him asking at a young age, ‘What’s homeless mean?’”
When Matthew was 11, he started collecting socks for people experiencing homelessness in Brockton where his parents grew up.
“I wanted to give back to the community,” he said. “I thought it was something unique because I know there’s always coat drives. So, I thought of socks.
In his first year, he donated roughly 600 pairs of socks. Now, at 13, and in his third consecutive year of donating, Matthew dropped off 2,646 pairs to Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan’s office.
Brockton’s homeless population is growing and its shelters are quickly reaching capacity, according to city officials, leaving more residents to live on the streets and brave the harsh winter and summer months.
“It’s something my son had a passion for, helping the homeless, since he was young,” Mark Navin said.
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A growing collection
At first, it started by word of mouth, posting on Facebook and collecting hundreds of pairs of socks. Now, local businesses and several West Bridgewater schools keep collection boxes to receive sock donations across the community.
His family held an event at the restaurant Fresh Catch in Mansfield, where they collected over 900 pairs in one night.
His goal for the year was to collect 1,800 pairs. He ended up with almost 3,000.
Matthew said that someone from every state in New England either mailed in socks or sent him money through Venmo to purchase socks. He collects all types from infant girls to adult men.
“He knows that people live outside in the elements and they may need something a little bit thicker,” Mark Navin said. “He puts a lot of thought into what he does.”
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High demand for warm socks
Matthew dropped of his nearly 3,000 pairs of socks in Brockton at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 19. By the next day, every pair had been distributed and accounted for.
Matthew said that even before he began collecting this year the day after Halloween, shelters were asking Sullivan’s office if he planned to donate socks again this year, or if there were any left over from the last year.
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He’s already planning to donate again next year, and wants it to grow into something even bigger.
He said his goal now is to obtain a license that will allow him to take donations from corporations like the Boston Red Sox.
“Next year we want to grow it more,” he said.
Enterprise staff writer Christopher Butler can be reached by email at cbutler@enterprisenews.com.
