An overlooked essential

Natesha Tama-Madison (pictured) and her family used quarantine time to make a difference in the community. Knowing that socks are some of the most needed, but least donated, items in homeless shelters, she collected almost 2,000 pairs. The hope was to gather a couple hundred pairs of new socks for local shelters, but the response was greater than Natesha imagined. She delivered the new socks to six different organizations: U.S Vets, The Beacon, LGBTQ Center of Montrose, Harmony House, Casa De Esperanza, and Helping Hand for Relief & Development. The sock collection was just one of several efforts Natesha and her family coordinated during 2020. They also distributed more than 1,000 face masks to frontline and essential workers and older adults in the community. Some of the masks were reusable, made using Indonesian batik and local fabrics. 

Editor’s note: The Buzz congratulates our regular Buzz About Town writer, associate editor Jordan Steinfeld, and her husband Matthew on the recent arrival of baby Sloane. Jordan is taking a short break to spend time with Sloane. In the meantime, Buzz writer Angie Frederickson is handling this column. As usual, please send your high-res photos and community news to [email protected]. Items are published on a space-available basis.