The creativity of youth serving in young offender centres, attending group homes or drop-in centres or general disadvantaged youth is being tapped to give back to the same resources and organizations they are now using.
By designing t-shirts as part of the new “Tees at Risk” program, these at-risk youth find an outlet for their unique artistic expression and also help to drive donations to non-profits that help other troubled or disadvantaged youth.
A portion of the sale of each shirt benefits a non-profit that assists youth at risk, such as the National Runaway Switchboard, NY Youth at Risk and the Zula Center. Each shirt benefits a different non-profit that is randomly match with the design.
“Our company’s primary goals are to give current and former at-risk youth a positive outlet for their creativity,” said Ben Wiener with Tees at Risk. “The girl who did our ‘Eye’ design is now 18 and told me she’s planning to pursue a career in fashion design and will use our selection of her artwork as part of her portfolio.”
One cool element is that each shirt has a small QR code as part of the design. Anyone with a data-enabled smartphone can take a picture of the QR symbol on the shirt and instantly access the captivating “story” behind the Tees at Risk design (see photo caption for an example).
While the company just launched in 2010 and only has four t-shirt designs so far, they expect their sales to come from mostly individuals who like the designs rather than just organizations and supporters.
“We want to make shirts that people buy because they are cool and stylish in their own right, not only because of how they were designed,” Wiener said.
To find out more information or to have a look at the Tees at Risk shirts, go to www.teesatrisk.com.