caption:

Socks Galore
Kelsey Terranova with the 1,333 pairs of socks collected in honor of her adoption day. Courtesy photo.


By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- It seemed like such a small thing, but for foster parents and children, it's a big deal.
Kacey Terranova of Putnam, foster mother,  remembers when a child would arrive at her home from the Department of Children and Families. They would come with some clothing "but they never had socks." Socks never seemed to make the trip.  "Sounds small, but it is a big deal," Terranova said.
The Terranova family adopted one of the foster children in their care, Kelsey, now 3.
Terranova said Kelsey's adoption day is Feb. 26, 2016, and they decided that instead of giving her gifts on the anniversary day, they would collect socks for DCF in Willimantic.
They started last year, the one-year anniversary of Kelsey's adoption, and set a modest goal of 200 pairs of socks.
The family didn't collect 200. They collected 500-plus.
This year, the second year to celebrate Kelsey's adoption anniversary, the family set a goal of 500.
They collected 1,333 pairs of socks.
"We never imagined it would get as big as it did," she said.
The family made the donation to DCF in Willimantic March 6.
"We decided to give back to the kids in foster care," she said, and the family sure did. With something as small as socks.