Christian entrepreneur Ed Vickers has launched Jollie Socks, an initiative to support people who are homeless.
The sock brand has been stocked in stores such as John Lewis, with the tag line ‘wear a pair, share a pair’. Essentially, when you buy a pair, the company donates a pair of socks to your favourite homeless charity.
Mr Vickers, who founded his firm Jollie Goods in 2012, got the idea when he was a student in Exeter and feeling a burden to help the homeless. Now 26, his London-based firm also runs a referral-based apprenticeship programme, to give those affected by homelessness the chance to transition back to working life. Job opportunities develop their skills, rebuild their lives and help them re-join the workforce.
This comes as a recent report from homeless charity Shelter suggested up to 250,000 people are living on UK streets each night. (For more information, visit https://jolliesocks.com).