WRITTEN BY JUDY HARRISON
The Machias Bay Area School District is 1,000 socks richer thanks to Jennifer Bunker, a first-grade teacher at Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School in Machias.
Bunker took Bombas, a firm based in New York City, up on its commitment to give away one sock for every sock it sells. Since its founding a dozen years ago, Bombas has given away 150 million socks, T-shirts, and underwear, mostly to agencies that serve the homeless. The company also donates to schools with a high number of students whose families live at or below the poverty line.
“I buy Bombas in my personal life and saw an ad on their website that said they give away one sock for every one sock I buy,” Bunker said. “My husband and I entertained the thought — wouldn’t that be a great thing for Washington County.”
Bunker filled out a lengthy application online for the company’s charitable program. It included questions about the county’s economics and the number of families struggling financially. The teacher asked for sizes that would fit children from pre-kindergarten through second grade, if approved.
“Every child in that age group and at the day care center in Columbia Falls received two pairs of black socks,” she said. “We have such an abundance of socks that each office has some so if kids get their socks wet outside, we can give them a dry pair to wear. They can keep them if they need them.”
The school district, formally known as Alternative Organizational Structure 96, consists of the towns of Cutler, East Machias, Jonesboro, Machias, Machiasport, Marshfield, Northfield, Roque Bluffs, Wesley, Whiting, Whitneyville. The district’s schools are Machias Memorial High, Bay Ridge Elementary in Cutler, Elm Street Elementary in East Machias, Fort O’Brien Elementary in Machiasport, Jonesboro Elementary, Rose M. Gaffney Elementary in Machias and Whiting Village Elementary.
Washington County is one of the poorest counties in the state with 20.26 percent of households qualifying for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Only Somerset County has a higher number — 20.62 percent — of households in Maine receiving that benefit.
Bunker said one of the reasons she applied to Bombas was to take a small burden off teachers who sometimes pay out-of-pocket for things like socks, gloves, and winter hats for students who need them. The socks arrived without warning in mid-October in four large boxes, the teacher said.
“For some kids, a new pair of socks is like a hug,” Bunker said. “They wear them until they need another pair.”
Bombas was founded in 2013 by friends Randy Goldberg and David Heath after they learned that socks were the item of clothing most often requested by homeless shelters. They established a “buy-one-give-one” sock company in order to provide the most socks possible to those in need.
The brand began growing rapidly after its win on the television show “Shark Tank” in September 2014. Today, Bombas also sells T-shirts and underwear, the next two most requested items at homeless shelters after socks.
The company has partnered with more than 4,000 organizations, 20 of which are in Maine, to distribute its products free. They are called “giving partners.”
Bombas is Latin for bumblebee.
“Bees work together to make their hive a better place,” Bomba says on its website. “We like that. On the inside of every pair of socks, we stitch these words: ‘Bee Better.’”
The give-away program is titled BeeBetter.
Bombas has been endorsed by B Corps, a group that considers whether for-profit businesses are meeting “high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
B Corps use the power of business to do more than seek profit,” according to its website. “They use their profits and growth to positively impact their stakeholders — and the planet.”
