Cordova Elementary School kids send signed T-shirts to Oklahoma tornado victims

Students from the Cordova Elementary School in Cordova, Alabama have signed about 100 T-shirts and sent them to the tornado victims which displaced thousands of families in Oklahoma in May 2013.  The T-shirts display the messages "We are praying for you" and "we love you."

For anyone keeping score at home, Cordova was hit by a tornado April 27, 2011.  The kids and community have that recent memory wanted to say they understood the trauma those in Oklahoma are going through.

Do good things.

T-shirts worn to honor those killed in Schenectady, NY fire

In Schenectady, NY, mourners wore T-shirts bearing the phrase "Gone, But Never Forgotten" in honor of David Terry and his three small children who died in a virulent fire on May 2, 2013.  Others wore T-shirts emblazoned with "David is our hero" along with the Superman logo.

Its a sad and senseless act of arson which killed the family.  But, in a beautiful act of memorial honor, David Terry and his children were remembered with these T-shirts.  

Goes to show that the sense of solidarity and the ability to express a feeling or sentiment without having to say a word.  My heart goes out to the family.  

Bristol youth helps Boston marathon bombing victims

Brooklyn Mullenax is at it again.  Last year she crafted bracelets, wallets and purses out of duct tape and sold them to raise money for Marisa Kay Vincent who was run over by a bobcat loader.  She also sold lemonade.  With the recent Boston Marathon bombings, she wanted to help again.  She was going to use duct tape again to make things, but her dad, Gus Mullenax, convinced to think of something new.  So, they decided upon T-shirts.  Brooklyn decided on one decide out of 30 she did.  It has a road inside of a peace sign, calling it the road to healing.  

Working with a local T-shirt printer, she's selling the T-shirts and donating all proceeds to The One Fund which helps the Boston marathon bombing victims.  But, she said a part of the proceeds will be denoted to a separate funds which is specific to the 8-year-old victim, Martin Richard.  As of May 2, 2013, 400 of the T-shirts have been sold.  She hopes to eventually sell 1,000 T-shirts. (Trib Today)

This 4th grader from Bristol, Ohio has done more in the last couple years that most people have done in their entire lives.  She's giving to people who need help.  If she doesn't have the money she's raising it.  I can't imagine what she'll be able to do if she continues on this path of greatness.

Do good things.

Job T-shirts for kids

Here are some fun T-shirt designs for kids.  When a full costume is too much, a T-shirts can be a good substitute.  In the images below we have airplane pilot, doctor and a police officer.  And who can ignore the sugary sweet cute couple with their lace and tie.  

Seeing these designs, I don't recall hardly, if any of these types of T-shirts on kids.  You'd think something other than their favorite super-hero or animated characters would be more fun to wear.  Sure, a a really nice Spider-Man T-shirt will look great, but I'm sure a kid walking around with a airplane, doctor or police office T-shirt would also get attention as well.  

NRA Kids T-shirts - Controversial?

Tip of the day.  How to create controversy and attention for your cause.

Answer:

Combined guns and T-shirts for kids, and infants.

The NRA (National Rifle Association) has offered T-shirts with crayons laid out to spell the letters "NRA".  They also are offering infant bibs with colorful play toy blocks emblazoned with the letters "NRA".

This isn't a editorial or a position on gun rights either way.  Its an example of how to quickly gain attention for your cause with T-shirts.  Recently, we saw children's T-shirts using super-heroes to suggest a sexist establishment that boys are heroes and girls need heroes.  Also, we've seen slogans labeled as 'offensive' being sold to children, especially infants.  

Want to raise attention to yourself, put questionable content on a child's T-shirt.

Courage for Khloey T-shirts raise funds 3-year-old child with terminal disease

The Pepperell schools in Lindale, Georgia are coordinating an effort to raise funds for Khloey Allen and her family with a T-shirt sales campaign.  Containing the message "Courage for Khloey", the T-shirts will be sold for $15 will all proceeds going to the Courage For Khloey Fund.  

The Allen family, while living in Rockmart, are part of the Lindale community.  Khloey's father went to school in Lindale and the family has helped others in the community when disaster struck them.  Khloey turned 3 years old on April 17, but was diagnosed in 2011 with a rare form of Pearson Marrow Pancreatic Syndrome.  Sadly, its a terminal disorder.  Her life expectancy is three to five years.

The community and Lindale schools have come together and established a fund for Khloey and her family. (Rome News)

Here's another fine example of communities coming together to help someone, or a family.  We don't need national or even global events to feel motivated to help others.  Its also another example of people learning that T-shirts are that tangible connection between helping someone via a donation and the person or persons receiving the funds.  A source of pride and a feel-good sensation that says, I helped, and I'm proud that I did.  Its also a belief that many hands make light work.  While each person wouldn't be able to pay for Khloey's medical bills, if many people helped, no one person has to bear a substantial weight.

Do good things.

BNL Mass Media students sell 'Building a better future' t-shirts for charity

Student in the Mass media class at Bedford North Lawrence High School in Indiana have designed a T-shirt as part of the class project.  The theme for the advertising project is "Pay it forward", and they will conduct a fundraiser to assist children in community by selling T-shirts.

The T-shirt reads "Building a better future" on the front and quote from hall-of-fame football player Jerry Rice reading, "Do today what others won't, so we can do tomorrow what others can't."  T-shirts go on sale today for $10.  On May 13, 2013 a Field Day event will be held where students will be encouraged to where the T-shirts.  At completion of all events for the day, the Mass Media students will present Kyle Brown, the director of the combined clubs, with a donation check. (WBIW)

Its a promising sign to see the involvement of high school and middle school students continue to be involved with charity activities.  I believe beyond a diploma, this act of the Mass Media class is most likely one of the best memories they'll have of high school.  

Do good things.

No, you cannot support the US troops with a T-shirt

Cejai Taylor was sent home from Mahaffey Middle School for wearing a T-shirt which violated the schools dress code.  Emblazoned with the slogan "Support Our Troops".  What's wrong with that, one might ask, and how does it violate dress code.  School officials noted the shirt does not have a collar.  That can be argued from a T-shirt perspective, but according to the dress code for the school;

"Pullover polo style or dress shirts/blouses with short or long sleeves with a collar are to be worn." 

The dress code also indicates the following;

"No sleeveless, see-through materials, excessively tight or revealing clothing, or logos over two square inches (except authorized school logos) are allowed."

On two counts, the T-shirt in question does conflict with the dress code.  Its not that Taylor did anything wrong, other than wear a T-shirt which supports her dad who is currently deployed, and wear the T-shirt in a school at Fort Campbell, KY.

Again, Taylor didn't wear an offensive T-shirt or something to raise the hackles of school officials.  Its school policy to have students wear under-stated and boring clothing.  The focus should be on learning, not how cool of a wardrobe you have.  I understand that, it just makes for good publicity when a student is sent home for supporting her father who is in the military.  Its an unfortunate conflict.  If the school allows Taylor to wear her T-shirt where do they stop students from wearing T-shirts with logos and slogans.  Eventually, you encounter that breaking point where the perception and definition of offensive varies between people.  So, no logos, no slogans.

Be proud of your father and military Taylor.  You can't do it at school.  As we've seen time and time again, verbalizing support of the troops will be tolerated, but wearing the same slogan on a T-shirt.  That'll trigger a response nearly every time.

Where is the line between Free Speech and Offensive T-shirts?

In this blog we've coverage numerous good deeds done through T-shirts.  We've even covered cases where people in positions of power seek to crush the expressions of a few because they felt the T-shirt was 'offensive' or could spark something more troublesome.

Here, I'd like to dig a little deeper into the subject of suppressing T-shirt designs.  I'm not referring to cases where public opinion dictates how a company conducts business through T-shirts.  A recent example of that is Nike removing their 'Boston Massacre' T-shirts from sale.  A common theme in Boston used in the past as a rallying cry.  But, with the recent Boston Marathon bombings, the populace is still rightfully raw about the subject.  I predict the pain will pass, and Boston will re-adopt the 'Boston Massacre' slogan and a rallying cry.  Maybe not for anti-bad guy reasons, but for sports, as it once was used.

The most common cases of suppression of free speech through T-shirts which supposedly contain offensive material, which is argued as our First Amendment right, occur in our public schools here in the USA.  And, most commonly, I see junior high school students being at the forefront of this conflict between self-expression and suppression of that expression.  The other, and more disturbing case of suppression, occurs from city officials declaring they know what's best for the city by imposing laws on what constitutes an offensive T-shirt.

Before we can question the right to suppress offensive T-shirt designs, we first have to define the terms.

What is an offensive T-shirt design?

If we're looking into the public school realm, offensive leans to sensitive subject matter in relation to the Gay issue.  Or, racial issues.  In the case of race, its usually someone showing support of their own heritage or showing respect for another.  Those are usually shut down rather quickly, as the school does not want to risk any racial-induced riots or fights.  I can understand.  In my youth, in my latter years of high school, we had an infusion of Vietnamese kids come into our school.  Mind you, we weren't that long removed from the Vietnam war, er, conflict.  TV and movies were still showing Vietnam as the bad guys.  We had a few kids band together with T-shirts with crudely written hate messages with unfortunate racial slurs towards the Vietnamese.  Things came to a head when a big fight broke out near the buses at the end of the school day.  It was got really scary there until the fight was stopped by teachers and school officials.  

The Gay issue in public schools is very unique.  I think for as long as there has been public school, there have been anti-gay statements made within the schools.  The word 'fag' was so over-used that it became this ubiquitous term used to denote anyone who was stupid, dumb or dorky.  If someone wasn't liked, for whatever reason, they were labelled a fag.  I don't mean homosexual in nature, just in a general dumb-ass nature.  With that in mind, kids today are incredibly savvy when it comes to proclaiming their beliefs via a T-shirt in response to the Gay issue.  As an 8th grader recently showed last month, wearing a message that indicated she didn't approve of Gays was challenged by a school board.  They felt it was hate speech, but the ACLU stepped in and forced the school to change its position on the grounds that the student's beliefs said that being Gay was not correct.  Not acceptable.  It was evil.  Wrong.  Her T-shirt made that point.  She was not claiming hatred or acts of violence against Gays, only that she didn't approve of being Gay.  There's your First Amendment right working as designed.  Even if the message sets your blood on fire, its the student's right to make that declaration.  Its your beliefs versus the other person's beliefs.  Its only positions of power that can suppress the beliefs of one in favor of another.

If we're talking about city officials, the word offensive usually has a sexual origin to it.  Its these people in positions of power who will create laws to force one agenda over another.  In recent memory, city officials in southern Florida towns have taken upon themselves to decry the abomination of sexually oriented T-shirts, and force retailers to position these T-shirts into newly created 'adult' areas for 18 yeas and older for viewing.

I'm going to step out on this subject with common sense and declare these suppression of rights, to display in store and sell these so-called offensive T-shirts, a very poor choice for two core reasons.

First, once the offensive T-shirt is legally viewed by an adult, and purchased by an adult, said adult can wear the T-shirt in public, in direct and unhindered view of children (gasp - oh the horrors).  We're talking about the same T-shirt which could see the store owner fined (substantially) for displaying it in their store in direct, unhindered view of children.  That reason alone shows a desire to punish the store owner for daring to even sell the T-shirt.  I'm sure city officials would love to fine and jail anyone wearing an offensive T-shirt in public, but they are at least smart enough to know when they are overtly trampling the First Amendment and common basic civil rights.

Second, with the curious, and unnatural aversion to sexually oriented T-shirts, why is not the same attention drawn to violent themed T-shirts.  Its my position that violence is much more corrosive to our youth than sex.  Have you actually seen some of the cartoons today's youth watch?  Try making it through just one episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants without cringing in view of the exaggerated violence.  One only has to dial the time machine back a few ears to the Power Rangers.  In its zenith of popularity, children were wearing clothes, had lunch boxes and all manner of merchandise of their heroes.  I personally witnessed children mock beating the shit out of each in their desire to replay those wildly violent battles they saw on Saturday morning cartoons.  

I find it truly mind boggling that people are more accepting of allowing our youth frequent and unhindered access to violence, but fall to near seizure mode when considering how to explain the world of sexually oriented material to a child.  I'm not calling into question the violence consumed by children, as I grew up watching the Roadrunner cartoons and I consider myself a respectable and stable person.  I'm no one special in that department though.  In the USA entertainment culture, it is incredibly difficult to to navigate life without seeing some level of violence in entertainment.  I hope that's not an argument for suppressing sexually oriented T-shirts.

So, what have we learned?  Have we defined what offensive means?  No, because offensive is subjective.  Offensive is defined by those in positions of power.  As a king may dictate laws of the land, edicts are established, based on the those currently in power, to suppress views and beliefs of others.  In some cases, those rules are in place to maintain a sense of peace, but in most cases its to further a personal agenda which is believed to be for the betterment of society.  

In closing, let me try a definition of offensive.  I believe any T-shirt with imagery or slogans which promote Fraud, Force or Coercion towards another person is offensive.  Those acts are morally and legally wrong, too, but to wear a T-shirt which promotes that is offensive.  That said, I don't consider "Cereal Killer" an offensive T-shirt.  Its punny.

What are your thoughts on the matter?

Pinterest - Things to make with T-shirts

Things to make with T-shirts

Here we have another selection of projects one can do with only (or new) T-shirts by Laura Sloan.  I've seen some of the projects listed in the link below, but most are new to me.  A couple bleaching projects look very fascinating.  I like the pink T-shirt with the horse.  This Pinterest page contains many projects beyond the trendy stuff we've seen previously.  Here, we have rugs, baby bibs, head bands and a good selection of skirts and blouses.

https://pinterest.com/laurarsloan/things-to-make-with-t-shirts/

If you are crafty and have access to lots of T-shirts, repurpose them and convert them into useable items.  

Would projects look the most interesting to you?

   
  

Wrapping Jane in Our Love - Quilt made from Irish dancing team T-shirts

One of the youngest victims of the Boston narration bombings is Jane Richard.  She is only six years old and lost a leg in one of the blasts.  It was revealed that Jane has started Irish dance.  This, combined with loosing her leg inspired Bree and Trish Johnson of Milwaukee to create a Facebook page "Wrapping Jane in Our Love".  They are asking for Irish dance school teams to donate a T-shirt with their school name on it, and the Johnsons would create a quilt. (HLM)

The response has been phenomenal.  So far, they have received nearly 400 T-shirts from around the world.  I suspect they'll be doing more than a single quilt.  If you wish to contribute to this outpouring of love, contact Bree of Trish through their Facebook page.

Do good things.

7-year old of Mateo's Litter Critters honored for cleaning up York City, PA

As part of Earth Week, mayor Kim Bracey or York City, PA, honored Mateo Maldonado, 7, for coordinating a volunteer initiate called "Mateo's Litter Critters."  On March 10, Mateo collected 47 bags of trash from just one area of the city.  Mateo appeared before his fellow students, got a hug from the mayor and a certificate for his community service.  Mateo and his fellow students were all wearing their "Mateo's Litter Critters" T-shirts.  On the front is the slogan, "Every Drop Counts." (York Dispatch)

Great things can come from small packages.  Mateo is a perfect example of that.  He has another clean up event scheduled on May 18th.  I hope others will become are of this and seek to help him.  The recognition by the mayor is a great act.  That recognition will have a profound positive influence on Mateo's life.

Do good things.

Student arrested, suspended for wearing Pro-Second amendment T-shirt

Jared Marcum, an 8th grader at Logan Middle School in West Virginia, has been arrested, suspended, and faces charges for wearing a NRA (National Rifle Association) T-shirt with an image of a firearm (AR-style) on it, plus the slogan "Protect Your Rights".  Jared wore the T-shirt thinking there wouldn't be a problem.  Why would there be, he included. (WOWK-TV)

Logan Middle School’s policy regarding dress states:

"A student will not dress or groom in a manner that disrupts the educational process or is detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of others. A student will not dress in a manner that is distractive or indecent, to the extent that it interferes with the teaching and learning process, including wearing any apparel that displays or promotes any drug-, alcohol- or tobacco-related product that is prohibited in school buildings, on school grounds, in school-leased or owned vehicles, and at all school-affiliated functions."

With that said, Jared got into an argument with a teacher over the T-shirt which resulted in Jared getting arrested on the grounds that he was "disrupting the educational process."  A weak position, at best, by the teacher and school.  Abusing power to enforce an agenda in response to an emotional issue - gun control.  

My suggestion to Jared and his father, call the ACLU.  About a month ago they worked with a middle schooler which allowed her to wear an anti-gay T-shirt.  It wasn't considered hate speech, but considered a message based upon her religious beliefs.

The power of a T-shirt can be no stronger than within the confines of a public school system.  Students, teacher, parents, school boards and the community are all tested when a student dares to stand up against the normalization of the kids and expresses themselves in a peaceful manner.

Was the school justified in arresting and suspending the student?  

Are Space Camp T-shirts sexist?

Recently, someone spotted that the website Space Camp was selling sexists T-shirts.  I took a close look at this, and yes, Space Camp does offer the T-shirts shown below in their clearance section.  In relation to being sexist, the only facts you can use to make a sexist conclusion is the one T-shirt is unisex, while the other is a traditional female cut, with the shortened sleeves.  On the T-shirts, two words stand out as being different.  The unisex, or easily classified as "male" in relation to a female cut style, show the word "Achieve", while the female cut shows the word "Dream."

I've thought about this and I think there may be a heightened level sensitivity going on here, with the recent sexist Marvel T-shirts.  http://redhotinkers.blogspot.com/2013/04/news-marvel-comics-t-shirts-are-sexist.html

Thinking on this more, I'm not so sure this is a sexist goof or an intended slight against females.  Studies have been conducted which indicate the number of women earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and math has declined in this male-dominated field.  At least here in the USA.  With that said, I'm having a difficult time convincing myself that the word "Dream" is morally negative, demeaning, hurtful and depressing to females in comparison to the word "Achieve."

The slogan on the female cut T-shirt is more apropos to me, in terms of space.  "Explore.  Discover.  Dream." is definitely more fitting than to "Achieve" as displayed on the unisex T-shirt, which I will note, females can wear, too.  Conversely, you won't see many boys wearing the "Explore Discover Dream" female cut T-shirts, which I think is a better slogan for space.  If we're talking about, say, Track & Field events, then yes, I'd say Achieve versus Dream do come across as sexist.  For Space Camp, if one can make an argument for sexists T-shirt, I believe it was unintentional.  

What do you think?

Natalie Baca's T-shirt design selected for Jessica Simpson's clothing line

Jessica Simpson and her sister, Ashlee Simpson have selected the art design of Natalie Baca, of El Paso, TX, as the winner of a competition the Simpsons launched last year.  Natalie is a mixed media artist offering a heart shaped motif which will soon be worn by young girls in Jessica Simpson's clothing line.  The competition for the design was introduced as a way for young girls to express their creativity.  

Jessica says 100% of the T-shirt sales will go to the nonprofit organization Baby Buggy which provides gear, clothing and education services for needy families with infants and children up to age 12 years old.  T-shirts can be found at Macy's for $20. (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Just recently Heidi Klum released a line of T-shirts to benefit a nonprofit organization, and now we see Jessica and her sister doing the same.  Good for them.  Use your name recognition and help those in need.    And congrats to Natalie Baca for winning the competition.  Nice designs.  

Do good things.

Marvel Comics T-shirts Are Sexist

Marvel Comics released two T-shirts for children which make an unfortunate sexist division between boys and girls.  The Boys T-shirt shows "Be a hero", while the girls T-shirt shows "I need a hero", suggesting girls cannot manage on their own and need a mall hero figure in their life. (Huffington Post)

Its bad enough the T-shirts establish a pecking order between male and female, but the female T-shirt, which sports the popular Avengers, does not show the Black Widow, one of the female Avengers, which appeared in the Avengers movie.  The comic book of the Avengers has had and continues to showcase many female characters, and as leader of the team.  But, to not show the Black Widow from the movie demonstrates a total disconnect from the licensed manufacturer and the head office at Marvel Comics.  I can understand Iron Man for the boys, but no female character for the girls T-shirt?  FAIL.

Marvel need to scrap the girls T-shirt and change the wording to "Be a hero", just like the boys and include Wasp, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, and Scarlet Witch.  

C'mon Marvel get better control over your merchandise.

Star Dog T-shirts sales to help orphanage

Denise Ricciotti (pictured below) and her family created an organization called Star Dog to assist an orphanage run by a friend of the nonprofit organization Tashirat.  The goal of Star Dog is to promote self-esteem by giving them clothes.  Many low income and homeless families are challenged in providing clothing that are the right fit, comfortable and don't have holes. (North Jersey)

How can you help?  Star Dog will donate one free T-shirt to a child in need for every T-shirt you purchase from their website; www.stardoggives.com.

Usually the good will, when it involves T-shirts, is to sell them and then donate the proceeds or a portion of the proceeds.  In this case, Star Dog donates T-shirts.  New T-shirts.  Let us not forget that while funds are greatly appreciated, its the simple things like a good quality meal and good clothing to wear, are excellent as well.  Good to see them doing this.

Do good things!

Next T-shirt Recall due to harmful substances found

The Enderby-based clothing company Next is recalling two batches of children's T-shirts when they were found to contain harmful substances as a safety precaution.  Next has strict guidelines for their printed T-shirts and test all their products to ensure they comply with their strict safety guidelines.  In this case, additional random testing showed that the safety guidelines where not being met.  As a precaution, two batches of children's T-shirts, targeted to boys between three months and six years, were being recalled. (Leicester Mercury)

Next says the recall will cost them money, but felt the precaution is worth it for the consumer safety.  It was not revealed how many products or T-shirts were being recalled, or what strict safety guideline was exceeded.  Next is showing they operate with a high level of standards.  But, it does make me wonder what testing they do. Is there something in the ink?  

Tie-dye T-shirts created by elementary students for autism awareness month

Students and staff at the Bowne-Munro elementary school in East Brunswick, NJ collaborated with a parent of one of the children to create tie-dye T-shirts to raise awareness that April is Autism Awareness Month.  The goal was to build school community and accept people with autism and their families.

Using an old fashioned tie-dyes such as soda ash, the process takes a while, but the results are wonderful.  The colors they chose include blue, baby blue and bright green.  In the middle of the T-shirt is a puzzle piece which is common among the autistic community.  About 70 of the tie-dye T-shirts have been sold, raising about $200.  (Sentinel)

I'm a big fan of tie-dye.  Combine that with the great efforts by everyone involved to bring awareness to autism, and I applaud them.  Great job.  

Do good things.

Students call for repeal of anti-gay language in sex education law

On April 9, 2013, in Montgomery, Alabama, high school and college students came to the Alabama State House wearing T-shirts supporting a bill to repeal state law (House BIll 496) that requires sex education courses to teach that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle and that homosexuality acts are against the law.

There have been a couple different online petitions to remove the anti-gay language from the law.  One gathered 18,480 signatures and another obtained 78,000.  No word yet on how or if the petitions will influence any changes in the law.