Sock Monkey Ministry
The Ministry has been able to reach OVER 8500 children, youth, and Military Troops all over the world.
We are selling 2009 calendars as a fundraiser for our efforts, you may purchase these by clicking the following link.
To date, we have sent over 8500 sock monkeys to children and adults all over the country. God has allowed us to start this ministry in many states. I would like to thank each and every one of you for helping to make this ministry possible. Without your help, we could not begin to provide for these children.
Please contact us if you need any supplies. We are always ready to provide more socks for patterning, socks for sewing, bodies for stuffing, and kits for assembling our finished monkeys. You can email us and arrange for an exchange of materials.
Monkeys bring a community together in Alabama
May 1, 2007 was not an ordinary day in the lives of many in Chelsea, Alabama. With yellow ribbons adorning columns and trees, flags draping the echoing hallways, and waves of patriotic attire encompassed the school body. Yellow support ribbons placed over the hearts of students, teachers, faculty, and special guests offer a solemn lesson in the significance of remembrance.
Tailored Sock Monkeys grasping the 322 students- individually personalized for a soldier were paraded; displayed as a sign of hope and encouragement to those that are fighting for our freedom in the Global War on Terror.
As students marched around their route to the appropriate theme song "Hey, Hey, we're the Monkeys", smiling faces, laughter, and a clear evidence of a marked achievement was visible.
The assembly was festooned with a surge of red heeled mouths, brown knitted ears, dangling tails, and a colorful fountain of fuzzy yarn. One could only chuckle as the cluster of stuffed monkeys seemed to reflect a hint of personality creating an incredible sense of amity.
Family members of soldiers lined the walls, visiting active and retired soldiers stood out wearing their pride. Our attending community City leaders and School Board representation was an affirming testimonial of the dedicated efforts of the Chelsea School and volunteers.
The poignant sound of the finely tuned harmonica resonated as it bellowed our National Anthem. From pride to tears as we remembered the fallen lost to a nation with the hollow whisper of Taps.
Special guest TechSGT Jubie from the Pentagon's Department of Defense, "Why We Serve" program gave a glimpse of tragedy and necessity as our country preservers in the efforts to regain control in the war on terror. He boldly speaks of his emotions as he painfully described the loss of his friends in Afghanistan and Iraq. He applauded the efforts of this school and affirmed that there is an ever-growing need for our soldiers to be encouraged and supported. He witnessed the affects of receiving a sock monkey first hand as he appeared clutching it closely to his chest to gain comfort as he spoke.
Once word broadened about the school efforts, many emails have poured in with desperation from family members and soldiers requesting monkeys to be sent as an act of solace in a bitter battle. As Sgt Acosta with the US Army shared in an email, "as odd as it may seem a stuff animal can do wonders for many... especially a stuffed animal with a purpose... I was trying to find ways to brighten up some of my solders in my unit ones who suffer from PTSD, and ones who just need a good THANK YOU from Americans so they know that they are loved and appreciated."
Since the start of Operation... Monkey Drop, 53 packages and 438 monkeys with attached personalized cards from students, and yellow remembrance ribbons on their chest, have been sent to foreign and US soil in efforts to bring hope and encouragement to the many soldiers serving. These packages will be received by children of soldiers who have been deployed, wounded soldiers hospitalized, orphaned children of Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers on the front lines of battle feeling hopeless and abandoned, chaplains as they try and console soldiers over the loss of their friends, nurses as they try to lift the spirits in a gloomy environment, and finally they are received in the arms of the families that lost their hero in the battlegrounds of violence as an act of remembrance of the dedication, courage and bravery so we can live in a country free from terror.
The community and students of our generation may never know the true impact of their efforts; we know for certain the moral lesson of patriotism will live in the hearts of all as the community joined together for a single purpose... service.