Kindergarteners, teachers and State Police pose with the more than 8,000 collected by Smithville Elementary School students.
Smithville Elementary School's students got a lesson in service that will help local homeless stay warm.
The Galloway Township students collected more than 8,000 socks as part of the annual project led by Student Council, explained adviser Jill Fernandez.
While the sixth-graders led the charge, the movement had quite an impact on the school's youngest students as well.
Isabella Mooney's kindergarten class topped the whole school by collecting 2,266 socks.
"The kids were so excited bringing in the socks every day," said Mooney, a first-year teacher who recently graduated Stockton University. "Their faces just lit up when they had socks to bring in."
The group got high-fives from N.J. State Troopers Frank Crocco and Daryl Hill from the Galloway barracks as they were led into the school's lobby to see be honored for their donations.
"They're taller than you are," said Pastor Lou Strugala of Church by the Bay in the township.
He and his group distribute socks, food and Narcan to homeless throughout the area, including Atlantic City, Bridgeton, Millville and Hammonton with help from state and local police.
Strugala said they have done gone to the homeless about 40 times this year.
The top class gets a pizza party. But the group of 5- and 6-year-olds were excited when they learned what their donations meant.
"The people who are homeless are going to be warm this winter," Strugala told the kids. "Because they don't have socks. If you didn't give them socks, they would be barefoot."
The kids then piped in about how many socks they each collected, and how high they could count.
"I can count to 121," said Kailani DeJesus-Morales, who told BreakingAC she collected 100 socks.
Teacher Isabella Mooney, of Ventnor, with Kailani DeJesus-Morales, who brought in more than 1,000 socks.She really brought in more than 1,000, topping the class.
"My mom brings a lot of socks," she said.
The winning class includes Sofia Perez-Guevara, Jayden Kaplan, Presley Foley, Cassandra Rosius-Biddle, Kane Ficken, David Koehler, Camila Kovack, Noah Lifango, Logan Loiacono, Quinley Walsh, Dominik Radovanovic, Rameez Hassan, Lillyana Zayas, Darrian Trotter and Brees Coleman-Smith.
