John's Crazy Socks Of LI To Host 'John Day' Event

FARMINGDALE, NY — John's Crazy Socks announced its answer to Amazon Prime Day: "John Day."

The Farmingdale business is set to host the event on Sunday and Monday in recognition of John Cronin's Aug. 11 half-birthday.

"Amazon and other e-commerce businesses hold special days screaming, 'Buy, buy, buy,'" Mark Cronin, John's father, said. "They chase transactions. At John’s Crazy Socks, we’re a different type of organization. We hold John Day to thank our customers. We are building relationships. We are building a community."

John and his father said they have a mission to spread happiness, and John said happiness is all about gratitude and doing for others.

"My Dad says I am like a hobbit because I give things away on my birthday," John said. "I love our customers and I want to thank them."

The business starts John Day by expressing gratitude for the Special Olympics. John, who has Down syndrome, is a Special Olympics athlete, as are many of the store's colleagues.

"We love what the Special Olympics does, so we will donate $1 from every order received on John Day to the Special Olympics," Mark said.

The business also wants to show gratitude to its customers. Every customer who orders on either day will receive a special prize; a gift to say thank you. Potential prizes are:

• John will make a personalized video for you.
• John will make a $25 donation in your name to one of our charity partners.
• John will call you to thank you.
• John will send you cupcakes.
• John will give you a shout out on social media.
• John will give you a free pair of socks.

Each package will contain a card telling the customer what they won. Each package will get a thank you note from John and some candy — John puts candy in every package, every day.

"We give out lollipops, one for you and one to give to a friend," Mark said. "On John Day, John will add extra candy and special surprises to your package. And every order will include a special discount to use during the holiday season. Why Do We Celebrate John Day? We want to thank you. We love our customers because you make possible everything we do. You make it possible for us to hire people with differing abilities. More than half our colleagues have a differing ability and your purchase of socks made that happen. The more socks you buy, the more jobs we create and the more hours our Sock Wranglers can work."

Purchases support the John's Crazy Socks Giving Back program.

The business donates 5 percent of its profits to Special Olympics New York. The shop then creates products to celebrate causes and bring awareness to causes like Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Money is then donated from those socks to charity partners like the National Down Syndrome Society, the Autism Society of America and United Cerebral Palsy.

So far, the business has donated over $750K to its charity partners.

"You made that possible," Mark said. "We want to show the world what people with differing abilities can do. We host tours and work groups."

John and Mark have appeared on more than 300 podcasts. They travel the country giving keynote addresses and speaking at conferences, business events, and colleges and universities.

"You make all this work possible," Mark said. "And we do advocacy work. Legislators and policy makers will listen to us because of our business and story and that creates an obligation to speak up for people with differing abilities. Every member of Congress on Long Island has visited our warehouse to see first-hand what our colleagues can do. John and Mark have spoken at the United Nations and testified before Congress. When John speaks, people listen. Again, it is our customers who make this possible."

John’s Crazy Socks is social enterprise, Mark said.

"We have both a business and a social purpose. Many say a business only has an obligation to its shareholders, to its owners. We vehemently disagree. We believe our business should serve all our stakeholders: our colleagues, our customers, our community and the environment in addition to our owners. We believe a business can and should have an impact greater than its bottom line. We have the opportunity, and therefore the obligation, to take care of our colleagues, to treat our customers well and to make a difference in the community. In the long run, that is good business."