Estevan's Grace Wock once again proved that anyone can make the world a better place if they decide to do so.
For a few years now, nine-year-old Grace was working on a fundraiser and an awareness campaign in the name of her seven-year-old brother Wyatt, who lives with Down syndrome.
"I decided to do it for my brother," Grace said in an interview with the Mercury.
In 2019, Grace decided she wanted to do something special to mark World Down Syndrome Day in March. Using her creativity she came out with a great fundraiser
"We were trying to find a way to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, which is March 21, every year. One of their campaign slogans was ‘Rock your Socks.' So the first two years, Grace tie-dyed all the socks by hand and sold them as a fundraiser," explained Grace and Wyatt's mother Kala Wock. "This year, we thought we'd try something different."
The family found a designer company named Friday Sock Co. out of Calgary. With their help, Grace developed one-of-a-kind socks in honour of her brother.
"Grace sent her ideas to them and they helped design the socks and she got to approve it and make changes if needed," said Kala.
The design took some work, and every part of it had a meaning.
"I chose this design because it matches Wyatt's personality. He loves pandas, he loves bright colours and he enjoys smiling," Grace shared.
"And he brings a lot of joy to all of us," added Kala.
Grace's efforts didn't go unnoticed, as her socks instantly turned out to be a bestseller.
"This year we sold 150 socks in one day," Grace said.
"It was really overwhelming. It was wonderful," Kala added. "We are very thankful for all the support from the community and that we sold out so quickly. That was really kind and generous of everyone."
Since that was all the company produced for them, the successful fundraiser wrapped up after the first day of sales. Kala said that they plan to continue supporting their daughter's initiatives in the years to come and Grace was confident she will keep going.
In the future, they might stock more pairs and also make kids and adults socks, as opposed to only adults that they were selling to this year.
The profits from socks went to two organizations. A portion will go to One Heart, an organization that takes care of vulnerable children in Taiwan. And the rest of the money will go to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society.
"The Canadian Down Syndrome Society is having a virtual walk in June to fundraise for their National Literacy program that they are rolling out. So the rest of the profits will go to that. Grace has signed up to do that walk in June," Kala said.
It wasn't an accident that a Taiwan organization was chosen as a recipient. Grace and Wyatt's story began in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Ryan and Kala Wock adopted Grace in 2012, and in 2015 they returned to adopt Wyatt. They went back several times later.
"We've been to Taiwan a few times since we adopted Grace, so she's got to go home and see the country she was born in. And we went there for an extended period in 2016 and ’17," said Kala.
She went on to explain that Estevan's Holly Hoste, who is a missionary and was teaching in Taiwan, was the person who brought Ryan and Kala out to that Asian country. When in Taiwan, Hoste started a charitable organization One Heart that takes care of vulnerable children and fights poverty. Ryan and Grace were eager to help. At that time, they were also looking into adopting a child, so everything aligned and after they were done working with the organization, they came home with Grace.
"We really love the story (of the organization), and we wanted to be a part of it. And then it worked out eventually for us to be able to adopt. And we loved Taiwan so much that we were really blessed to be able to go back and adopt Wyatt a couple of years later," Kala recalled.
In 2016, they went and volunteered for about 18 months with the organization.
"We lived in the country and we got to spend time getting to know our kids' culture and their heritage, just seeing the people learn about taking care of vulnerable children and working alongside people who were doing it already," Kala said.
