Angel 37 Kitchen teamed up with Tradehome Shoes to hand out more than 400 pairs of socks to the Dickinson community during a special give-away Friday at the Prairie Hills Mall.
For the past three months, Tradehome Shoes conducted a buy one, get one promotion with its Century Socks and has been keeping track of how many pairs have accumulated with that sale, Manager Wes Carson said, adding that the company sent over 400 pairs to give away for free. As a way to celebrate a milestone, Tradehome Shoes was looking to partner with a nonprofit and decided to reach out to Angel 37 Kitchen, Carson said.
“Tradehome has been open for 100 years. That’s what century is. So we decided to create our own brand of socks… so that we would have more of the ability to give back to the community,” Carson said. “... This is just an awesome way for us to give back.”
For Angel 37 Kitchen Event Manager Nikki Binstock, this was a unique way to provide a necessity to the community.
“It’s been busy. It’s been awesome. I’ve made three families' days of giving them socks, and we’ve had some go, ‘They’re free?’” Binstock said, adding that some mall shoppers have bought socks and donated to the cause. “So it’s been very rewarding and amazing.”
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Though some mall shoppers were a little skeptical of the sock give-away, Angel 37 Kitchen Founder Tana Johnson noted that it made a lot of people’s days.
“Socks are one of those things that everybody can use, because they always get misplaced, lost, left. So it’s been a really cool community giving (event),” Johnson said. “... We feel very blessed that they chose us as a nonprofit.”
Angel 37 Kitchen began in November of 2016 in memory of Johnson’s father, who passed away in 2012, with a mission statement of “for the community, by the community.”
“(I didn’t want) it to be not a soup kitchen, I wanted it to be a community kitchen,” Johnson said.
Binstocked added, “(It’s a place for) anybody who wants a meal or (a place) to come (and) eat for conversation — a family gathering per se. We’ve had so many good compliments with Tana doing this in memory of her dad. It’s been amazing and rewarding. The more (that) word got out, the more people we had to donate a meal.”
From November of 2016 to March of 2020, Angel 37 Kitchen served approximately 15,000 people. Gathering each Tuesday at the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Dickinson, the organization provided meals from 75 to 125 people per week, Johnson said.
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Angel 37 Kitchen will be partnering with CountryHouse Residence of Dickinson for a drive-thru Thanksgiving dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 628 24th St. W. Dinners will be handed out on a first come, first serve basis. For more information, call 701-483-2266 or visit the Angel 37 Kitchen Facebook page for updates.
