Illinois SAL to promote CWF on their feet

Illinois SAL to promote CWF on their feet

The Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Illinois is getting creative with ways to meet its Child Welfare Foundation goal of $1 per member. Soon, Illinois Legion Family members will have an opportunity to promote the CWF on their feet.

The detachment will be selling dress socks featuring the CWF logo as a fundraiser for around $20-25. As well as promoting its slogan to go along with the socks – Stand Up for Kids.

“We are really excited about this because we think it’s going to be successful,” said Butch Ray, vice chairman of the Detachment of Illinois Children & Youth Committee and a past detachment commander. “Our detachment is goofy enough to have all the guys walk around with their pant legs pulled up so everyone can see the socks.”

The idea for the socks came from past detachment commander Phil Shipley. It was after he and Ray spoke earlier this summer that the idea came to fruition. Ray received approval from American Legion Emblem Sales to use the CWF logo on socks that are produced by Spirit Sox USA. As part of purchases, the California-based woman-owned company donates socks to the homeless.  

To start, the Detachment of Illinois purchased 250 socks. And members are interested.

“We just had our detachment meeting this past Saturday (Dec. 3) and showed everyone the image of the socks. I could have sold 20 pair that day alone. There’s a lot of excitement brewing about it.”

Additional promotional efforts will be on Facebook, at all Illinois detachment meetings, in the squadron monthly newsletter, during the department’s annual membership caravan in January and more.  

“We hope this becomes an annual thing,” Ray said. “If we sell what we purchased this year maybe next year we will put Illinois at the top with a year so you can build a set. You can buy a different pair every year and have a drawer full of CWF socks.

“If we do it on an annual basis, it will be a really neat way to keep the momentum going.”

If other detachments are interested in purchasing socks or creating their own, you can contact Ray for more information by email at butch.ilsal@gmail.com.

The CWF provides grants to nonprofits that support youth-serving projects that seek to enhance the lives of children by addressing their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Learn more here.