A 13-year-old Milton girl is helping give more than 4,000 socks to a Boston homeless shelter this holiday season — an annual tradition that has taken off over the last 10 years.

Sophia’s Socks for the Homeless, a drive collecting new socks for New England’s largest day shelter St. Francis House, was started by then-4-year-old Sophia Casini and her family in 2015.

That year, the drive aimed to collect 100 pairs of socks. They collected 282 pairs — and took off from there.

The next year, the drive more than tripled the number of socks. Five years in, the sock count had exploded to over 10 times the original donation.

Ten years later for this year’s drive, the teen’s sock drive brought in an all-time high of 4,715 pairs.

The anniversary is a big milestone for the drive, St. Francis staff said, noting that Sophia’s efforts shows how “one small act of kindness can inspire sustained, tangible change.”

Sophia and others delivered carloads of socks, along with cold-weather clothing and gear, to waiting shelter staff Sunday morning. Over the last decade, St. Francis House staff said, the young girl’s effort has led to total donations of more than 26,000 socks.

The drive took donations this year through three “sock box” drop locations, along with gifts through Venmo to buy new socks, according to the Sophia’s Socks for the Homeless Instagram account.

“Every pair of socks counts!” Sophia wrote on Instagram in an October call for donations this year.

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St. Francis House, located in downtown Boston, serves more than 7,000 people each year with shelter, food, clothing and “pathways to stability for adults experiencing homelessness and poverty,” the shelter said.

“New socks are one of the most requested items at homeless shelters, providing comfort, warmth, and dignity to individuals in need,” St. Francis staff said, adding, “(Sophia’s) annual sock drive highlights the power of community action and youth leadership in addressing homelessness.”

Iesha Strickland takes in 13-year-old Sophia Casini’s annual donation of socks to St. Francis House. This year she collected 4,715 pairs of socks. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Sophia’s Socks for the Homeless, a drive collecting new socks for New England’s largest day shelter, was started by Sophia Casini and her family in 2015. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)