Northport Resident Brings 'The SockKids' to Classrooms Across the Country

Animated characters created by a Northport resident will be featured in classrooms across the country to teach children about drug safety issues.

Michael John Sullivan, who has lived in Northport since 1995, created The SockKids five years ago after his daughters teased him about never having matching socks.

“I wondered where the missing socks would go,” Sullivan told Patch. “So I theorized they would go time traveling through the spin cycle of the washer, landing on famous historical figures.”

He created 10 characters, gave them all different colors and personalities and asked a few illustrators to draw them.

“I eventually copyrighted and trademarked the characters and the logo,” Sullivan said.

He then took out a bank loan to produce the books, “The SockKids Meet Lincoln,” ”The SockKids Go Dancing” and the “SockKids Help Ben Franklin.”

Sullivan’s SockKids ended up taking off.

A few months ago, Sullivan was approached by the University of Mississippi about the school using The SockKids as a way to teach children about drug safety issues. Ohio State has also gotten on board.

Four 5-minute videos will be streamed into classrooms across the country with support from Cardinal Health and HopSports.com.

Last May, The SockKids was invited to the Global Expo for Destination Imagination, a world series for creative children, in Knoxville, Tennessee. “We showcased our SockKids in front of thousands of children and parents and were overwhelmed with the response,” Sullivan said.

Check out a video of The SockKids below:

Images via Michael John Sullivan