SALEM, Va. – Tuesday is WSLS 10 Help the Homeless night at the Salem Fair.
The summertime staple is giving back to the community this year more than ever before.
"You can help somebody and it just works for everybody," Salem director of tourism Carey Harveycutter said.
Harveycutter has been a part of the fair’s effort to donate food to the Salem-Roanoke County Food Pantry for years. This year, they wanted to do even more.
"This is something we came up with as another way to help the community," Harveycutter said.
Fair organizers teamed up with the Roanoke Rescue Mission for a simple but serious strategy: fair attendees donate two pairs of new socks and get $5 off their ride wristband, typically $25.
"Go have a great time knowing that you have done something really important to help somebody else," said Tracy Altizer, chief development officer for the Roanoke Rescue Mission. "Socks are an ongoing need all the time every day and so the more socks we get in, the more we can do to help our folks who are on their feet so much."
Not only do the donations help people in need, they also free up funding for the rescue mission to do even more good.
"The outside donations are critical because our budget couldn't sustain being able to provide all of the things that these folks need," Altizer said.
"There are a lot of less fortunate people among us. We don't necessarily see them, but we need to help those people," Harveycutter said.
The fair runs until 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Click here to learn more about the Salem Fair.
Click here to learn more about the Roanoke Rescue Mission.