By: Kristy Pate
United Way of West Florida
PENSACOLA, Fla., -- Retired Command Sergeant Major Raymond McKnight has been donating socks to those in need since 1978. He was 35 years old then and it was a passion he has continued since.
“My calling has always been socks and my family supported me,” he said. “I started Advanced Individual Training at Corry Station back then and didn’t have many hobbies and knew people get cold. All I did back then was work and go to church. My dad was a tobacco farmer, so we grew up very poor, and I knew what it was like to be cold. When I got shoes as a kid, my dad would outline my foot on a piece of paper, go to a hand-me-down store, and get me shoes. They would never fit.”
McKnight’s passion for the Army and his Soldiers was always evident to those around him and led to him being promoted early throughout his career.
“My Soldiers supported me, and someone saw my potential,” McKnight said. He was in the Army for 32 years and got 23 awards. “I got more than my fair share,” he humbly explained.
To McKnight, it’s always been about more than just donating socks. He says the socks are a vessel to share God’s word to someone in need. He has donated socks in 37 countries and 45 states. He says after every flood, hurricane, or tornado, there are a lot of people who need socks.
“If you give money, they forget,” he says. “If you give, socks, they remember.
McKnight says he has had many encounters with people during his sock ministry that have had a great impact on him but there are a few that really stand out in his mind over the years. One particular story revolved around his electrician traveling to Guatemala on a mission trip.
“They were going to build greenhouses. Some of the women in the community had made bracelets for the mission trip and they didn’t have enough. So, he asked if they could hand out socks also,” McKnight said. “I told him yes, but only if someone hands them out by hand and doesn’t just lay them in a pile. I always tell everyone to SMILE when you give a person socks and show them God’s love!”
During this particular mission trip, so many people came to receive socks that they had to break apart the packs of socks and hand pairs out individually.
The night before the team left, a Guatemalan came to the door where they were staying and wanted to trade his rug for socks because they had run out earlier in the day. Luckily, McKnight had given the team extra pairs of socks. They told the man to keep his rug and gave him some of their extra socks.
“After they gave him the socks, they shared the Gospel with him. The man fell on his knees and received his salvation. That was a powerful moment I will never forget,” McKnight said.
McKnight said much of his sock donations have been in Harlan, KY. Many of the coal mines in Harlan and the surrounding region were shut down years ago due to factors like environmental regulations, a shift to cheaper natural gas, and a decrease in coal demand.
“In Harland, 9 out of 11 mines were closed,” McKnight said. “So, we went up there. They are the best people at only taking what they need. Up there, people are hard-working and don’t like taking handouts.”
McKnight’s family was from Harlan, KY, so he initially called his brother, who was a police officer there, and he connected him with Verda First Baptist Church.
“This church was very small, only 40 members. We have been going up there for the last 15 years and since then, there has been an evolution of our ministry work there. At first, we showed them what to do, and now they have carried this forward on their own. During the hurricane and flooding in North Carolina, this little church made 5-6 different mission trips of their own to this area, handing out socks to those in need.”
Everyone in McKnight’s family has been on a mission trip to this church to hand out socks.
Another event that stands out in McKnight’s mind is Hurricane Sandy in October of 2012. This storm became known as “Superstorm Sandy” after merging with a cold front and striking the northeastern United States, causing catastrophic flooding, especially in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
“One of my neighbors called and said his house in the area wasn’t flooded so he could be a pick-up location for my socks. Police and fire fighters always need them first.”
McKnight said he sent the socks and his neighbor’s grandkids would sit in the yard and put socks in containers and pray over them.
When he started his mission to give socks, McKnight was 35 years old. At 83, he is still active in his mission to use socks as a vessel to spread God’s word to those in need. McKnight purchases all of the socks he donates with his own money.
“Sometimes the socks would come looking a little wrinkled, even though they were new,” his wife, Mary Ann McKnight, said. “He would spend a lot of time ironing the socks because he always wanted people to feel like they were getting something new.”
McKnight’s passion for his sock ministry and for the Army are evident in everything he does. The walls of his home are decorated with his many awards and accolades, but his humble spirit is what makes him an inspiration for younger generations. McKnight has always had a heart and passion for helping others, whether it be his Soldiers or his community, or communities around the world.
DJ Kint, Veteran Care Coordinator for the Florida Veterans Support Line with United Way of West Florida, has known McKnight for 3 years.
“Ray helped me with a veteran I was working with, and we have been friends since,” said Kint, who is also a retired Master Sergeant in the Air Force. “He has always been passionate about helping others; from his time in the Army where he loved his Soldiers, and his Soldiers loved him, to starting his sock ministry once he got out. The socks are more than socks...they are a vessel to show people that someone cares about them and a way of showing God's love to them. Ray always told me to make sure I smile and show care and compassion when giving out the socks!”
Kint described Ray as a mentor and a friend.
“He will never totally know his impact on me as I strive to show that same love and compassion to veterans that I work with,” Kint said. “Ray reminds me to not be discouraged and don't neglect your family which you need to hear in this job and he knows that! Ray is a God/Family/Country man who has served all three very well and I am grateful and honored to call him a friend!”
McKnight says he feels so blessed to have the opportunity to donate his socks and touch so many lives.
“Everyone can do it, it’s just what you’re able to do it with,” he said. “For me, it’s socks.”