Every year the Wilbur D. May Museum at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park hosts a holiday drive to help those in need. This year, they're asking for socks.

"Socks are the number one requested item at homeless shelters, but they're the least donated," said Samantha Szesciorka, Assistant Curator at the museum.  "It's just not something people think about when they think about donating things for the homeless."

But there's a huge need, especially this time of year.

"Everybody needs to have warm, clean socks," Szesciorka said. "If you don't have that it can lead to health issues, infections, even hypothermia."

They're accepting all styles and sizes at a bin in the lobby of the museum.

"I think people forget that there's babies and toddlers and kids that have housing insecurity and they need socks too," Szesciorka said.  "Women's socks men's socks, any type of socks as long as they're new, we'll take them."

Donations have been pouring in this first week.

"The response has been amazing," Szesciorka said. "The Reno area is so generous, it's such a wonderfully charitable community, and you see it in the response. We had people coming in to donate socks before we even started the drive."

There are plenty of Holiday-themed events at the museum, like the Tuba Christmas Concert and the Gingerbread Festival. The hope is to collect as many pairs of socks as possible by the middle of December. The museum is partnering with a local company, Community Office Solutions, to raise more money for the cause.

"Community Office solutions is a local company that sells office supplies and so we are collecting socks but if people aren't able to donate the socks they can go to the community office solutions website and a percentage of every purchase will go towards purchasing socks to add to the collection drive.

The donations will benefit the Volunteers of America shelter, the Eddy House and Northern Nevada Hopes.

More information: https://www.washoecounty.us/parks/maycenterhome/museum/index.php

                            https://www.facebook.com/CommunityOfficeSolutions/

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