Nonprofit MelroseKind In Need Of Socks For Veterans

MELROSE, MA – MelroseKind, a local nonprofit organization helping encourage fellow Melrosians to reach out to each other with random kindness, is in need of socks for the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center.

For every sock donated, the nonprofit is honoring Scott Forbes, “a kindness warrior of the highest degree,” MelroseKind founder Maribeth Darwin said in an email.

“Scott was one of the very first Melrosians to embrace our mission,” Darwin said. “When we talked to him about MelroseKind, I can distinctly hear him saying, ‘I like it! I like it!”

Forbes was a United States Air Force Veteran, and graduated from Melrose High School in 1992. He served on the Melrose Board of Alderman for three terms, including one year as president.

He was a supporter of the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center and worked to help homeless and at-risk veterans receive housing, education, benefits, and peer support.

Forbes passed away at his home in Bow, New Hampshire on March 6, 2023, at the age of 49.

New socks are the most requested items by the housing insecure, and homeless veterans, Darwin said.

MelroseKind asks community members to donate as many socks as possible to their “kindness porch,” located at 249 Grove Street, throughout the month of May. The socks will be donated to Scott's mission at the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center.

“We will never forget you, Scott, and promise to make you proud in continuing this important work,” Darwin said.