February 21, 2021 | Hamilton, Ontario
Contributed by Mike Pearson, Ancaster News
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BUSINESS REPURPOSES GENTLY-USED HOCKEY SOCKS
Like many Canadians growing up playing hockey, Matthew Milne accumulated quite a collection of hockey socks.
After playing a game back in 2012 or 2013, Milne put a sock on his head, as a joke. His mother, a skilled seamstress, told him she could make the sock into a toque, if he wanted.
“The idea kind of stuck, until I found something to do with it,” said Milne, 21, an Ancaster resident and co-founder of a new social enterprise business called Toques From The Heart.
The business operates on a one-to-one donation model. For every toque sold through the website, a toque is donated to someone experiencing homelessness.
During the pandemic, toques have been distributed through social service agencies and non-profits.
“We are 100 per cent Canadian-made, across the board, from production to our products themselves.
Joining forces with friends Matt Carter and Casey Rogan, the three McMaster University commerce students had a big year in 2020, donating more than 1,750 toques to people experiencing homelessness.