Alex Stone, of Blazes Burgers in downtown Westbrook, has a giving tree to collect socks and warm clothes for the city’s students. Robert Lowell / American Journal

Winter is settling in and Westbrook students, without boots and wearing sneakers in the chill and snow, show up at schools with wet, freezing feet. They need dry socks and warm clothing.

Blazes Burgers on Main Street in Westbrook, where the giving tree for local schools stands ready. Robert Lowell / American Journal

Alex Stone, owner of Blazes Burgers in the city’s downtown, said one elementary school nurse told him the school needs 40 pairs of socks every quarter, adding up to nearly 500 pairs annually at the three Westbrook elementary schools.

“We’re going to take a bite into that,” Stone said Tuesday at the restaurant.

Stone has set up a giving tree with tags. His customers can pluck from a bough a tag printed with a need for socks, underwear, a T-shirt or sweatshirt. The customers then can purchase a new item and bring it unwrapped to the restaurant and deposit the gift into the appropriate large, cardboard box for schools.

Next month, Stone, a former youth sports coach and former School Committee member for eight years, will deliver the boxes and monetary donations to each of the city’s five schools when classes resume after the holiday break. “It’s a critical thing to do,” he said.

“I’ve always been a fan of supporting schools,” Stone said.

Superintendent Peter Lancia said Wednesday in an email to the American Journal, “We appreciate how the community supports our students’ basic needs like warm clothes. Many are experiencing a Maine winter for the first time so this is especially needed. Thank you Alex Stone and Blazes Burgers.”

Stone said a brother is a big donor in the program, along with the Brunner family and the Osgood family.

He wants to make going to school “easier and a little more comfortable” for students. “School is hard enough,” he said.

He has hired some of the kids he coached to work in the restaurant. Some others come to the restaurant hungry and relish a burger. He said, if the kids are respectful and need help, he’ll help them, and never turns away a kid who needs a burger.

This year marks Stone’s sixth of pitching in with a giving tree. “I love the community,” he said. He has lived in Westbrook 25 years.

Other downtown businesses in Westbrook with similar giving programs benefiting children include Xtreme Screen & Sportswear and Profenno’s Pizzeria and Pub.