SHELBY – Knit one, purl one. Slip stitch purlwise. Knit two stitches together. Slip, slip, knit.
These patterns have been on loop in the brain of Kim Opperman for the better part of a decade now, ever since she began knitting socks for American troops overseas with her “Socks for Soldiers” program.
What started as a hobby she enjoyed independently was first channeled into a way to support the country’s war efforts almost 12 years ago, and has grown into a 501c3 with more than 2,000 members around the world. Since its inception, “Socks for Soldiers” has distributed almost 400,000 socks to active duty soldiers.
It all started in 2006 with a Life Magazine cover from 1941, a remnant from World War II that Opperman found while helping a student with a project as an aide in Shelby City Schools. The magazine spoke of knitting on the home front as a way to help the war effort and keep American soldiers warm.
“I became enthralled with all the photographs of knitters during the war efforts, and I wondered why all that patriotic community service ended so abruptly,” said Opperman, an avid knitter herself.
With that Life Magazine cover imprinted on her brain, Opperman went home that day and began researching any knitting efforts to support the Iraq War that was currently raging overseas. Nothing came up. Then she had an idea.
“I had this vision of recreating a community group of women knitting together for the war effort,” Opperman said. “The idea of a very close-knit community actively supporting those who were at war, that’s what I was trying to recreate, but I was doing it in an online setting.”
Opperman knew large communities of knitters congregated on the internet, and opened a group on Yahoo hoping to attract some like-minded knitters wanting to support the troops. Within a day of creating that group, 28 people had joined.
“I learned people are craving something to do to show their patriotic support, not only for America but for their warriors,” Opperman said. “We were all sitting around wringing our hands wanting to support our own.”
From that day forward, Opperman’s vision for a knitting group began to evolve. She solicited advice from her son, a member of the military, on how to create a specific pattern for socks that would meet strict military requirements. She also incorporated her group, “Socks for Soldiers, Inc.”
The goal of the group is to hand-knit regulation socks and caps, with regulation-colored custom-made yarn and using high-quality super wash wool. Opperman created a knitting pattern herself and now runs groups on Yahoo, Ravelry and Facebook with thousands of knitters contributing. She also sells yarn to her knitters wholesale, professionally dyed with military colors.
As a single mom with six kids and zero business management or administrative training, suddenly being thrust into the CEO position of “Socks for Soldiers” was an adjustment for Opperman.
“My learning curve was trying to motivate and make online strangers become productive units of labor, but in order to get them to join me in this effort, I had to be friends with them,” Opperman said. “I had to make that connection between the real world and internet world, and passionately ask them to do this. I couldn’t accomplish my goals without becoming a real person – and that’s unique to the online community.”
Opperman’s efforts have rewarded her greatly: she currently has more than 2,000 knitters for “Socks for Soldiers” from around the world, including Germany, the U.K., Australia, Sweden, Canada and Hungary. Not only is she receiving knittings from overseas, but thank-you notes as well.
“We have received thousands of letters from soldiers over the years and lots of pictures, they’re grateful for receiving anything but also it’s the fact that someone took the effort,” Opperman said. “I receive letters from soldiers who honestly believe they have been forgotten about in America.”
It’s this sentiment that motivates Opperman the most. Growing up in the era of the Vietnam War, she recalls the sense of America turning its back on the country’s own troops. For this reason, she takes special care to keep politics out of the conversation within “Socks for Soldiers.”
“I felt as if during Vietnam that the warriors were punished for the decisions of politicians, and I was determined that would never happen again,” Opperman said. “It doesn’t matter whether we agree or disagree, they are our men and women and we are gong to support them as people for answering the call of their president. We focus on knitting, we focus on support.”
Opperman has received national attention for her knitting efforts. Recently, she was featured in “Country Woman” magazine’s Dec/Jan 2018 issue. She has also been approached by Oprah, but was worried the attention would create an influx of new members that she wouldn’t be able to manage.
Instead, Opperman is happy managing her group of productive knitters one sock at a time. Now retired, she runs “Socks for Soldiers” without any salary or any kind of compensation other than donations to help cover costs – her last yarn bill was $17,600. But each stitch comes with love and prayers.
“I just have a passionate heart for our troops and I wanted to do something uniquely my own,” Opperman said. “It’s something you give of yourself that’s not the same as sending a six-pack of socks. And I know the impact on the other end is not only are we making soldiers smilers, but we’re allowing them to know there are real people in America that truly understand the meaning of a labor of love.”
Send all items to:
Socks for Soldiers, Inc.
165 Leslie Lane
Shelby, Ohio 44875
http://socksforsoldiersinc.com
