Custom Clothing Success Story: Boston Victim Fund Raising

Image source: Nydailynews.com

On April 15, two pressure cooker bombs went off during the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring 264 others. It's been almost two months since the tragedy, but relief groups are still organizing fundraisers to help those who were affected by the tragedy.  

The Hopkinton Marathon Committee has announced that it will sell t-shirts and send the proceeds to victims and their family members. The design features the Boston Marathon starting line on the front and the phrase, "With you at the start, with you at the finish, with you forever. The people of Hopkinton send love to all those impacted by the attacks of 4/15/13" on the back.   A press release from Dorothy Ferriter-Wallace of the Boston Marathon Committee reads, "The Hopkinton Marathon Committee immediately wanted to show support for the victims with the banner," she said, in the statement. "Now, through the T-shirt sales, we will send tangible monetary support to the victims. The T-shirts also demonstrate Hopkinton’s pride as the starting point of the Boston Marathon and show that the race will go on." Image source: Metro.co.uk

This is just a small, local charity effort, but it draws attention to how much of a role custom clothing can play in nonprofit campaigns and fundraising efforts. There have been dozens of other custom shirt designs that have groups raise money for the Boston bombing victims, like the Boston Strong clothing campaign that got national coverage a few weeks ago or the Sandy Hook t-shirts from December of last year.   You don't have to follow in the footsteps of these three charity drives and focus on a national tragedy to raise funds. You always have the option of mounting a much more upbeat and optimistic campaign, like raising awareness about cancer or gathering support to save local wildlife.   One of the reasons why custom clothing is so popular is that it's self-funding. You don't need a whole bunch of money upfront in order to kick off the fundraiser, like you would if you design a donation website or run a charity dinner. Orders for charity clothing can go straight into production, and then you simply take the profits and pour them into your charity.  

Image source: Bostonglobe.com

The other major benefit of custom clothing is that it serves as an advertising platform for your message. People will gladly wear charity t-shirts to show their support of a good cause, and you get the added benefit of word of mouth marketing without having to invest any money. It's a win-win situation for everybody involved!