Arlington brothers' bright blue socks raising funds for threatened bird

ARLINGTON, Mass. — Two Arlington brothers have gotten worldwide attention for their blue socks and it’s all for a good cause.

It was a science lesson at The Fessenden School that sparked an interest in an odd bird – the Blue Footed Booby.

The bird has a funny name and it’s for good reason – the species is not afraid of people. So when it was first discovered, people thought the bird was crazy.

“Since they had blue feet and booby means crazy,” said David Banister, a teacher at The Fessenden School .

The birds, which are found in the Galapagos, have steadily been declining in population. Researchers speculate that a lack of sardines, a source of food for the birds, might be to blame, according to Live Science.

Twelve-year-old Will Gladstone said he was so worried by the threats to this curious, clumsy bird that he wanted to do something to help them.

“I was like-how would we raise money for them?  And it was like...it just hit me,” said Will.

The answer was on his feet – blue feet.

“They have blue feet, why don't we just sell blue socks to raise money for them?  That would be so awesome,” said Will.

The Blue Feet Foundation was born. It's only been a year, but the boys have raised $15,000, much of it through social media outreach.

All this, and they're not even in high school yet. It's only been a year, but the boys have raised $15,000, with orders flowing in from around the world.

A pair of the bright blue socks are only $12.50 and all the proceeds go toward saving the Blue-Footed Booby.

His teacher, Bannister, said he hopes that one day when he teaches another Blue-Footed Booby lesson, the species will be no longer threatened.

“Well, I hope we go out of business,” said Matthews, Will’s younger brother and fellow business partner.

You can buy a pair of socks online and follow the foundation on Instagram.

Cox Media Group