Ink to the People, Milwaukee, will make a donation to a Boston charity due to sales of T-shirts designed to raise donations to help those affected by the April 15 bombing incident at the Boston Marathon.
Within hours of the incident, which devastated and disrupted the Boston area and captivated the nation’s attention, two Emerson College students — Nick Reynolds and Chris Dobens — designed shirts meant to drum up enough money to make a donation to The One Fund Boston, a charity formed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to assist people most affected by the event.
Reynolds and Dobens contacted Ink to the People to help create the custom shirts and quickly used its online design platform to create a royal blue T-shirt with the phrase “Boston Strong” across the chest in yellow lettering. The colors are similar to the signature colors of the Boston Marathon.
Priced at $20 per shirt, the duo initially hoped to sell about 200 Boston Strong shirts for a small donation. “When Nick and Chris approached us with their idea, their hope was to make a small mark and help those in need with their T-shirt fundraiser,” says Jay Berman, principal of Ink to the People. “This tragedy in Boston hits close to home and we wanted to help give back.”
Dobens and Reynolds used social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to promote the shirt. As of April 19, more than 11,000 shirts had been sold, making Boston Strong the largest campaign Ink to the People has seen. The previous record, “Be A Buddy Not A Bully,” brought in just fewer than 1,000 orders.
Ink to the People agreed to donate 100% of the sales from the first 1,500 Boston Strong shirts sold to the charity. After that, Ink to the People recoups the printing, production and distribution costs (about $5), and all proceeds from the sale of each shirt ($15 per shirt) will be donated to The One Boston Fund.
“We came up with the phrase ‘Boston Strong’ as a way to show support to our community,” Dobens says. “We are grateful to be able to contribute and in our own way help the victims of this tragic day.”
“Everyone at Ink to the People is very happy that the success for Nick Reynolds’ and Chris Dobens’ tremendous efforts has blossomed larger than they ever could have imagined,” says Marshall Atkinson, chief operating officer of Ink to the People. “It’s really great to see that they are able to find an outlet and contribute to their community’s support of the tragedy. It speaks volumes on how great those two college students are and maybe is a positive note from this unfortunate tragedy.”
For more information, visit inktothepeople.com or visualimp.com. — J.L.
