5 minute read
Chris Costello ’96
Chris Costello ’96: Walking the walk as an entrepreneur
• Yearbook, 1996
• Chris Costello ’96 with young students in Montreal sparked by the entrepreneurial spirit to help others.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy’s Chris Costello ’96 founded a nonprofit organization in Montreal, Canada, after he recognized there was a large population of homeless residents, including many who suffered from foot problems.
In 2020, his company—Toe2Toe—made a shift and went toe-to-toe with COVID-19.
During internships in emergency rooms for medical school, he noticed a trend within the homeless population.
“There were always foot problems and foot infections,” Mr. Costello explained. “It was something I was curious about at that point. I wondered why was there always a foot problem.”
A medical condition landed Mr. Costello in a Montreal hospital for several days in 2012. His roommate was a member of the homeless community. Prior to discharge, Mr. Costello asked a pointed question.
“Upon discharge, I asked him what did the homeless population need that the general population wasn’t thinking about. He brought up socks. That’s when things made sense. A lack of foot hygiene leads to foot infections and foot problems.
“He said he could get food and get shelter, he could find a hat and jacket; but he couldn’t find socks, and he could go six months wearing the same socks. You consider the level of a lack of hygiene, that’s what was contributing to all of these foot infections. It puts the body open to systemic infections, which could go anywhere.”
Six months in the same pair of socks—a recipe for a health disaster, especially for people whose immune systems were already being stressed due to factors like cold weather, substance abuse and a lack of nutrition.
—Chris Costello ’96
Opening in 2012, Toe2Toe grew to be a savior in the Montreal area, which houses a homeless population of approximately 3,000 people.
Toe2Toe’s process—connect with schools and private businesses, have them conduct a sock drive, collect the socks and deliver the items to Accueil Bonneau, a homeless shelter in Montreal—worked.
“The students like it because they’re part of the mission,” Mr. Costello said. “They have to go get something specific, like socks, not just hand over money.
• Chris Costello ’96 was a guest speaker, via Zoom, in Gayle Hsiao’s Social Entrepreneurship class.
“With all schools I work with, it’s such a blessing because I see an entrepreneurial spirit in the students. If I go to a school, they then go to their hockey or baseball team and do a drive. That’s how they contribute.”
Montreal’s first case of the novel coronavirus was diagnosed at the end of February 2020. Within weeks, COVID-19 cases began to climb rapidly, and by the end of April the city already had 1,000 deaths.
Mr. Costello recognized how susceptible the homeless population was. He made a shift in Toe2Toe’s mission. Actually, it was more of an addition. He put together a plan for COVID-19 kits, complete with a mask, non-alcoholic hand sanitizer and vitamins.
“In the homeless population, if you have a lack of nutrition you will have a lack of vitamin intake and that’s what keeps your immune system up and running. If the immune system is already comprised and people develop COVID-19, they are more vulnerable for major symptoms.”
Mr. Costello also saw this as an opportunity to educate people, not just about homelessness but about the coronavirus as well.
“I started leaving it open to students whenever I did a presentation,” he said. “I said if they wanted to do socks, by all means, do it. But if they had a concern and wanted to be educated on COVID-19 and what are some resources that might be limited within the homeless population, then by all means do that drive and we’ll distribute those.
“I’ve enjoyed the COVID-19 drives because it’s a little bit of a learning point.”
Mr. Costello and his team received their first donations of COVID-19 material before Christmas. The turnaround time from making a commitment with a group to delivering the goods was typically 4–6 weeks.
“The most serious feedback I get is that I see the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said. “They say they’re going to go online and drive something, or they’re going to go to their hockey team or art class, and they look for ideas. I push the entrepreneurial spirit.”
Not surprisingly, the entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well at WMA, too. After addressing faculty member Gayle Hsiao’s Social Entrepreneurship class as a guest speaker via Zoom, the students agreed they wanted to chip in, but not in a standard fashion. They wanted to participate in both the sock and COVID-19 Kits, and each kit would contain four months of supplies.
With the help of the WMA Service Team, WMA made donations toward the Latino Ministry and the Center for Human Development, which serve adults in Springfield, Massachusetts, as well as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which assists children and families in nearby Holyoke. The Social Entrepreneurship class partnered with a local church to make more donations.
How strong is the entrepreneurial spirit at WMA? The exchange between the students and Mr. Costello was so profound that it gave him some fresh ideas for Toe2Toe.
“Presenting and meeting with Gayle’s class was an absolute pleasure, and they had motivating and thought-provoking questions,” said Mr. Costello, who was captain of the Football, Wrestling and Boys’ Lacrosse teams at WMA. “They provided me with ideas on how Toe2Toe is going to move forward. It was an honor to be speaking with the students and working with people at WMA.”
• From left: Victor Simunek ’23, Caitlin Lee ’21 and Nick Vedovelli ’21 with supplies to donate.
