Suffolk County Legislators Tom Donnelly (D-Huntington Station) and William R. Spencer (D-Centerport) recently visited John’s Crazy Socks, a local business “built on love,” to present the father-son owners, who both reside in Huntington, with a Proclamation and thank them for all they do for the community and local and national causes.
Founded in late 2016 and headquartered in Melville, John’s Crazy Socks was inspired by John Cronin, a young man with Down’s Syndrome, who together with his dad, Mark X. Cronin partnered to spread happiness through socks. The company stocks and sells nearly 2,000 unique and fun socks, each with a different theme, and last year shipped more than 42,000 orders. At a request from the family, the company recently provided socks with a book pattern to former President George H.W. Bush to wear at his wife Barbara Bush’s funeral in homage to her life-long commitment to improving literacy. This was the second time the Bush family had personally reached out to John’s Crazy Socks in seeking a special pair for an important event.
John’s Crazy Socks is guided by one simple rule: treat people the way you want to be treated. Following through on this mission has been a staple of the local entrepreneurs. John, whose personality and business acumen has helped the company thrive, is unwavering in this commitment. He has been insistent on hiring people with disabilities to help fulfill this mission. John’s Crazy Socks currently employs 33 people, 14 of whom are disabled.
The company also gives back to the community financially, most prominently through the donation of 5% of its earnings to the Special Olympics. They have created a series of Awareness and Charity socks and donate money from each pair of those socks that are sold to causes like Down’s syndrome, autism awareness and breast cancer research.
“John’s Crazy Socks is so much more than an online sock store. Their company fulfills the notion that a mission to spread love and joy is a successful business model. Their imaginative socks have captured our hearts and seeing President George Bush wearing a pair of John’s Crazy Socks to commemorate First Lady Barbara Bush demonstrates the far and meaningful reach of their mission,” stated Legislator Spencer.
“It was inspiring to visit John’s Crazy Socks and a privilege to join with Legislator Spencer in honoring John and Mark for their outstanding accomplishments and extraordinary commitment to the community,” added Legislator Donnelly.