T-Shirt Special Project
This upcoming year, we are embarking on two new special projects that you could partner with! The first one is an initiative that would allow 10 of our bright, young orphans to start a T-shirt printing business. Each of these students have been supported and trained by Life Center Ethiopia on the latest innovative graphic design techniques and unique t-shirt design skills. We have also trained them on how to set up and manage an environmentally friendly business. They have decided to put these skills into practice and start a t-shirt design and printing enterprise, since they have all recently graduated from university. We encourage our widows and orphans to start businesses because finding jobs in the Ethiopian economy, even with an education, is very difficult.
The potential for this particular business is booming in Ethiopia right now. Over the past few years, graphic design and printing have come into high demand because everybody wears graphic t-shirts. The orphans have found a market for their products in the fashion industry and are eager to start this business.
Truman Pollard, one of Life Center Ethiopia’s Board Members, recounts the history of how this project was formed. He says,
“The original concept to make t-shirts came from a t-shirt graphics project used in the youth program at the Urban Workshop. In late 2019, Josh Manley and Truman Pollard instructors with the Urban Workshop were asked if we could bring projects to the Life Center Ethiopia. We joined the team from ILA Independent Learning Center a Christian home-schooling group and gave a class on 4stroke engine assembly, how to use tools and drawing the various parts. This was February 2020, and by March the world had shut down due to the Covid virus. Later into 2021, we kept in contact with Mulu Woldetinsae and discussed another Urban Workshop project applying graphics to t-shirts. The objectives were to develop t-shirts designed by the Life Center students to be sold at The Justice Run in Colorado, the event raises money and awareness for human trafficking and its victims. Life Center students submitted their drawings and we at the Urban Workshop made these sketches into photo ready artwork. We had decided sublimation printing on polyester shirts was the best direction for the Life Center because of the lack of water for needed for the traditional silk-screening graphics process. The t-shirts were a success as we all learned more about design, manufacturing, and selling t-shirts. Another set of shirts were sent to the Life Center with members of the Cleveland church Fellowship City Church. Making our first sales in Addis Ababa with the church group. Our next opportunity came in late 2022, when I was asked to develop another set of 10th anniversary shirts for the retreat at Sanadafa in February 2023. Again, sketches were sent from the Life Center for review and final design selection. I thought this was also a great time to bring the skills of using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to the Life Center, ultimately training the life Center with the total process. Pastor Joe McGinnis and his group from the Fellowship City Church joined the retreat as I gave computer classes. The following week I would work with the students on individual computer and hand drawing skills. By July 2023, I joined Mulu and the Life Center to give assistance as Merima Mohammed head of the Life Center sewing group would be taking full control of the process from design to local supplier selection to create the HOPE t-shirts for a widow retreat. Steve Trindade founder and CEO of the Urban Workshop donated funds for the t-shirts.”
These orphans are ready to officially start this business! However, they still need a heat press, printer, and high-quality computer so they can offer their customers a wide array of design options including colors, graphics, and fonts. These orphans know that in order to set themselves apart in this market, they need to have all the up-to-date equipment that will complete the job above industry standards. With your help, they can do that!
Our fundraising goal for this project is $15,000 and we hope to be fully funded by the end of the year. As you begin praying and deciding on where to give this year, please think of this project and the impact it will have on these children and their community.
Please consider giving to this business venture and helping these 10 orphans achieve their dreams!