An idea spurred by a Pinterest post has resulted in hundreds of pairs of socks being collected at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School for kids in need.

Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students spent part of October collecting new and gently used socks to distribute to other students throughout the district.

Guidance counselor, Susanne Siebrase, and sixth grade social studies teacher, Niki Early, noticed last year a lot of students didn’t have winter socks. This year they decided to get the three grade levels involved in a friendly competition to see which grade could collect the most.

“After you pay the bills and put food on the table, a lot of times there is not enough money for socks,” said Siebrase.

Each grade level kept track of donations on a point system. One point was awarded for one pair of gently used socks. Two points were awarded for a new pair of everyday socks. Five points were awarded for a new pair of winter socks.

Thursday, Oct. 27, was Crazy Sock Day at the middle school. Students wore colorful and decorated socks they considered to be over-the-top. Liliana Hernandez, a sixth grade student, was chosen to have the craziest pair of socks out of all three grade levels. 100 points were added to the sixth grade total because she won.

“My mom brought seven bags in. She really wanted to help people,” said Hernandez.

The winning grade level received popcorn and a movie the next afternoon. The socks will now be sorted to make sure there are no holes in them. They will then be offered to students at the middle school first, then to the elementary schools, and then to the pre-schools. Any remaining socks will then be offered to the community.

Friday, Oct. 28, was the last day to collect socks. In all, 4,741 points were tallied, which equaled 2,774 pairs of socks.

Seventh grade came in third place with 486 points. Eighth grade had 2,171 points, and sixth grade came in first place with 2,184 points.