Larry Snyder, barista at the Drive-Thru Starbucks, has turned a simple act of giving into a phenomenon that extends far beyond the island.
The story of the 9th Annual Legendary Sock Drive began back in 2007 when Larry and his publisher, Ethan Yarbrough started handing out socks in a Union Gospel Mission rescue van. “We had 200 pairs and ran out,” Larry recalls and the two made a pact. “These vans will never run out of socks again.”
Starting with a goal of 500 pairs quickly grew. “Over 6,000 pairs in 24 hours!” Larry exclaimed referring to the sock drops at Mary’s Place and the Children’s Fund. “The joy goes to the giver,” he says. It’s amazing that the involvement isn’t just local. Participation now comes from South Carolina to Ethiopia to Australia.
The Sock Drive is a deeply personal tribute to his mother, a woman whose boundless compassion defined his childhood. “She recycled glass to buy food because food banks didn’t exist.” Larry says, referring to her commitment to care for others. Her focus was running a preschool/daycare center in Holly Park, one of Seattle’s toughest neighborhoods.
This is where the most extreme example came when two young girls, ages 2 and 3, were abandoned. Despite unscalable challenges, his mother took them in, raising them for 12 years. “She knew she had to be the answer to these kids,” Larry reflects. This unwavering commitment to doing what’s right left an indelible mark. These girls “are” two of his five sisters.
The Sock Drive is Larry’s way of keeping his mother’s spirit alive. “I was shown, at an early age, how you establish your care of community,” Larry says.
As Mercer Island celebrates the success of another Sock Drive, Larry remains humble. “It’s such a blast to do this with a group that is doing it for the right reasons,” he says. And while the drive officially runs for only 30 days, its impact—like the spirit of the woman who inspired it—lasts a lifetime.