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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Gilmour Academy Junior Named AFP Cleveland Youth in Philanthropy Award Winner
On Wednesday, October 9, Javi Swinarski '26 was recognized at Convocation by Gilmour’s Head of School Kathy Kenny for his selection as a 2024 Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Cleveland Youth in Philanthropy Award winner. He will be presented with the award by AFP Cleveland at a reception on Thursday, November 7 at Windows on the River.
The Youth in Philanthropy Award recipients are individuals between 10 and 18 years old who demonstrate exceptional commitment to their community through philanthropy by raising financial support, developing charitable programs, volunteering and/or showing leadership in philanthropy.
Swinarski was recognized for his tireless dedication to his annual “Socktober Sock Drive.” He is currently in the midst of his eighth drive, held each October. He launched the initiative as a fourth grader after a field trip, during which he learned that socks are the most requested items in homeless shelters. In his initial year, he collected 500 pairs of socks. For the past eight years, he has continued to organize a sock drive for the homeless, collecting socks across all three divisions at Gilmour as well as from outside organizations and donating them to local homeless shelters. With last year’s drive, he set a new record, collecting 14,362 pairs of socks. This year, his drive runs through October 15 and he has set an ambitious goal of collecting more than 20,000 pairs of socks.
Recognizing the need to help the victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Swinarski announced that socks collected between Wednesday, October 8 and Wednesday, October 15 will be donated to hurricane victims.
Asked what inspires him to run his sock drive each year, Swinarski shared, “The best part about the Sock Drive is delivering the socks. The happy faces make all the hard work worth it. It inspires me to want to help even more.”
Head of School Kathy Kenny shared, “Gilmour’s mission is to develop the competence to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society. I am so inspired by Javi’s longstanding commitment to this cause and by our students and faculty members, who join his efforts to live our school’s mission. Javi’s goal of 20,000 socks for this year’s drive is ambitious, but I know with his leadership, it is attainable. He is truly the embodiment of what our mission calls us to do and I am so proud of him.”
