Fresno Mission hopes to form a line 7 miles long of donated socks on Nov. 13. Image via Fresno Mission

On Nov. 13, the Fresno Mission, along with help from volunteers, will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest line of socks.

Fresno Mission’s goal is to collect 80,000 pairs of socks and set them out on a line over a 7-mile distance.

The event will be hosted at Crosscity Christian Church near Nees and Willow avenues and is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The current Guinness World Record for the longest line of socks measures 19,901 feet and 6.48 inches, or around 4.2 miles, and was set by a group in Germany in 2014.

 

Once the record-breaking attempt is completed, the socks will be donated to local non-profits in the Central Valley.

Nathan Freeland, interim chief development officer at Fresno Mission, said that Guinness has officially approved the attempt but there are certain rules that must be followed, including the requirement that socks must be hung on a rope or a string, must be held in place with a clothespin and cannot be placed more than a centimeter apart.

The record attempt will require 160,000 clothespins to hang up the socks.

Freeland said that while many homeless people may reject offers of food, water or shelter, he has yet to see any one turn down offers for new socks.

Fresno Mission “disciples”—people that live at the rescue home or are part of the program — will be assisting with the record attempt. About 1,000 volunteers will be needed to help hang the socks.

Children will also be able to participate. All volunteers must register before the event.

“We’d love to encourage anybody and everybody to come out and volunteer and just see what this is about, Freeland said. “It’s not just about socks — it’s about people and that’s our goal and purpose. We are just using socks as a tool, but our goal is to help transform lives, lift them up out of poverty, or trauma, or homelessness or whatever their life insecurity may be.”

For more information, visit https://www.fresnomission.org/fresno-mission/socks/