Health Improvement From The Ground Up

Ten thousand pairs of top quality merino wool socks will find their way to needy Vermont youngsters this week thanks to the joint efforts of a charitable foundation affiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, a Northfield sock maker, and the state's community action agencies.
Governor James Douglas joined representatives of Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc. at a Monday news conference at the Northfield sock maker's factory to announce the initiative. Douglas praised the Blue Socks for Kids project as an excellent example of private Vermont organizations working together to help their neighbors during difficult economic times.
The Vermont Caring Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation whose mission is to advance and improve the health of Vermonters, provided $25,000 to finance the initiative and Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc. of Northfield, the state's (and Northeast's) only sock maker, produced 10,000 pairs of socks specifically for Blue Socks for Kids. The state's community action agencies and seven homeless shelters will distribute the socks to Vermont's neediest children.
Research from the United States and Canada indicates that warm underclothing is high on the list of needs among the low income and homeless living in cold climates. An Oregon summit on the needs of low income folks and the homeless in winter came up with two priorities--socks and health care.
The purpose of The Vermont Caring Foundation is to improve Vermonters' health, particularly children, explained Kevin Goddard, Vice President of External Affairs for BCBSVT. We felt this would be a good way to help keep Vermont kids warm and healthy this winter.
Cabot Executive Vice President Ric Cabot expressed his company's excitement with partnering with The Vermont Caring Foundation and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. This partnership will get new, quality Vermont made socks onto the feet of kids in these trying times for many Vermont families, Cabot noted.
About The Vermont Caring Foundation: The Vermont Caring Foundation exists to advance and improve the health of all Vermonters, particularly children and teenagers. The Foundation seeks to fulfill its mission by raising and distributing funds to support local programs whose primary purpose is health education, prevention, research, promotion and/or improvement. The Foundation granted nearly $15,000 to four projects in the first half of 2008 before deciding to use its remaining 2008 grant budget to invest approximately $25,000 toward the Blue Socks for Kids project.
About Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc. Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc. is a Northfield, VT- based sock manufacturer and the only sock maker in Vermont and the Northeast. Cabot makes socks for a broad range of private-label customers including Bass Shoes, L.L. Bean and Orvis. The newest addition to the Cabot line is the Darn Tough Vermont label, a premium, all-weather performance sock knitted of 100 percent merino wool, Lycra, nylon and elastic to meet the needs of the outdoors person.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, providing coverage for about 170,000 Vermonters. It employs over 350 Vermonters at its headquarters in Berlin and branch office in Williston, and offers group and individual health plans to Vermonters. More information about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is available on the internet at www.bcbsvt.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is an independent corporation operating under a license with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.