ENCORE APPAREL HITS HIGH NOTE WITH SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAMS
Encore Apparel Co. makes music-inspired T-shirts with a mission. Since 2014, New England natives and former corporate dudes Casey Paton and Mark Lisavich have created funky and fun clothing, with 10 percent of the profits going to grass-roots charitable causes. Case in point: They've helped revive and preserve music programs in public schools (that 10 percent going toward music funding via the Little Kids Rock Foundation).
“Music and art is so great for kids — it gives them structure, it gives them direction and should be an integral part in the learning experience for any student,” Paton told us.
This fall, the duo furthers that social mission with an opportunity for area high schools to sell their products to raise money for their music programs with a new direct fundraising platform.
“It's a win-win, for us as a small brand I'm looking at distribution ... and this is going out to people who care about music. This is a product we know will resonate with them. It helps them raise money and helps us get our name out there,” Paton said. For the new school program, Paton and Lisavich will offer their top 10 musicinspired designs, which will be sold for around $30 each. They'll also be supporting the teen sellers with a promotional marketing kit, an online selling tool and back-end support. “Being a teenager is a tough time and music is such a great outlet for young people and helps them be successful going forward in life,” Paton said. Adam Calus, director of music at Charlestown High School and founder of a soon-to-launch music nonprofit Music for Schools, said, “I'm excited to see our students use this opportunity to raise money for the benefit of music at CHS, while also promoting the important role the music program plays in their overall educational experience.”