1,600 Homeless Cats Receive Toys from Operation Happy Sock
Local Girl Scout Troop Breaks National Catnip Toy Record
Alexandria, VA – Thousands of catnip toys are being distributed to homeless cats in Northern Virginia this month, thanks to Girl Scout Troop 3086 and “Operation Happy Sock.” The Junior Scouts have collected unwanted socks from hundreds of donors and transformed them into fluffy catnip toys by stuffing them with catnip and polyfil, and tying a knot in the ankle.
Animal shelters in Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun County, and Prince William County, as well as several local cat fostering and adoption organizations, will receive 100 catnip toys each. Troop 3086 visited the Viola Lawson Animal Shelter in Alexandria themselves to give Happy Sock catnip toys to the cats there.
“It was fun and nice to know the cats will have something to play with. I was surprised to see how little catnip was needed to make a cat happy. Some of the cats really went crazy!” said Chelsea Desvergunat, age 11, when visiting the Viola Lawson Animal Shelter in Alexandria.
“A catnip toy can be like a teddy bear to a stressed-out cat at the shelter,” explains Martha Powers, founder of Operation Happy Sock. “But many shelters have little or no budget for buying toys for the animals.” By taking unwanted socks and turning them into toys, both people and animals benefit.
“When we heard that we might be able to break the Happy Sock record, we decided to go for it!” says Iris Stubblefield, leader of Girl Scout Troop 3086. “The girls started collecting socks in December and we reached our goal in just a few weeks.”
“We were glad to hear about a fun, easy project that the troop could do to help the animals in our shelters,” adds co-leader June Meehan. “The girls had a blast making the catnip toys!”
“We were amazed to see, with a little motivation and a party atmosphere, that the girls were able to complete 1,600 sock toys in just 2 hours,” said Irene Delgado, a parent volunteer.
“Most people are pleased to find a good use for their unwanted socks. It’s not unusual for someone to have dozens of mismatched socks, or sweat socks with holes in the toes or heels. Every one of those socks can become a Happy Sock and make a homeless cat happy,” says Powers.
Children who volunteer to make Happy Socks qualify for hours of community service required by many schools. They also get to share in the fun of visiting their local animal shelters to deliver the catnip toys in person and meet the animals they’ve helped.
In addition to visiting the cats at the Viola Lawson Animal Shelter, the girls learned the importance of taking good care of their pets. “The people at the shelter were very glad to see us, and gave us a wonderful tour of their facility,” reports Iris Stubblefield. “This was exciting for the girls, but also an important educational opportunity.”
Operation Happy Sock was created in Northern Virginia in 2004 and is now enjoying international popularity. Thousands of Girl Scout troops and other community service groups have launched the project in their own areas. An estimated 250,000 Happy Socks have been made and distributed nationwide, and many more are created each month.
Nationally, over 4000 individuals have requested and received free Operation Happy Sock Information Kits by e-mail to help them plan their projects. It’s a fun, easy project that can be undertaken any time of year, and there are no deadlines or reporting requirements.
Volunteers are encouraged to deliver their Happy Socks to their own local animal shelter, but many also have shipped socks to feline survivors of national disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the recent California fires. Happy Socks are also sent to Best Friends Animal Society, one of the country’s largest animal sanctuaries, in Kanab, Utah.
A free Happy Sock Information Kit, complete with step-by-step instructions and photographs of finished Happy Socks, is available to anyone who sends an e-mail message to
happysock@verizon.net.
About Operation Happy Sock: Founded in Fairfax (VA) in 2004 expressly for the purpose of creating and delivering catnip toys to homeless cats in animal shelters. The project has since become a national community service effort undertaken by thousands of Girl Scout troops, as well as homeschool and church groups, 4-H Clubs, Montessori schools, Boy Scouts, Roots & Shoots, and individual cat lovers. Counselors and therapists also use the project to help therapy groups and Alzheimer’s patients.
Operation Happy Sock is a nonprofit project with no official affiliation to any other animal charity or organization. No one associated with Operation Happy Sock is paid for their work. Materials (catnip and polyfil) are purchased by individual project leaders locally at a cost of under $30 per 100 Happy Socks. For a
free information kit, please send an email to
happysock@verizon.net.
Posted by Joy Moffat, Best Friends Staff
Photos provided courtesy of Operation Happy Sock