#MontCoStrong T-shirt sale underway
Fundraiser supports county’s COVID-19 Response Fund
UPPER MERION » The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board has kicked off a T-shirt fundraising effort to support the MontcoPA COVID-19 Response Fund. The Response Fund was established at the end of March to support local relief efforts in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The #MontCoStrong T-shirt fundraiser will run through June 1, with 80 percent of the $25 sale price for each shirt being donated to the Response Fund, which supports organizations critically impacted by the pandemic, including those serving low-income and food-insecure residents, senior citizens, veterans, homeless and homebound individuals.
“The health and well-being of our residents remains our top priority, and we wanted to do something to show our support and a sign of solidarity to help rally and unite the community,” Mike Bowman, president & CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, said in a press release. “We want everyone to know that they’re not alone. We are truly all in this together, and we will pull through.”
The tourism board designed the shirt, and is partnering with DJB Specialities Inc. of North Wales, which specializes in custom apparel and promotional products.
“We wanted to find and support a local, small business in Montgomery County, and DJB just also happens to be one of our members,” said Rachel Riley, spokeswoman for Montgomery County’s tourism agency.
DJB Specialties has been in business since 1997 and has done screen print and embroidery for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board in the past, according to David Blank, president of the company. Blank said he was approached about this project, adding that the company is printing and packaging the shirts and hosting the website for the sales.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Blank said the company has received about 80 orders totaling about 150 #MontCoStrong T-shirts.
To keep production costs down, he said all of the T-shirts will be printed after the order window closes June 1, with the shirts being delivered by the middle of June.
To say 2020 has been challenging for DJB Specialties is an understatement. Despite the challenges, Blank said his company is committed to working to support the community.
On Feb. 26, the building that housed DJB Specialties was completely destroyed by a fire. Since then, the company has been working out of Blank’s Montgomery County home, with some assistance from other businesses in the industry that have allowed the company to use their facilities.
“We were able to save some computers, which got us up and running. But the entire operation was destroyed,” he said in a telephone interview.
Blank has leased new space at 297A DeKalb Pike in North Wales — but the build-out and relocation has been put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re excited about it. It’s a beautiful building and will be a new state of the art building with everything brand new. We’re just waiting on when it’s safe to get started,” he said.
When Gov. Tom Wolf issued his March 16 order that non-essential businesses needed to close, Blank was forced to lay off
his staff of 7 full-and parttime employees. Now, it is Blank, his wife Laurie and son Marc doing the work for the #MontCoStrong Tshirt sale.
Once the shirts are delivered in June, the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board is asking people to share who they’re #MontCoStrong for by posting images of themselves wearing the shirts on social media.
“In times like these, it’s important for us to leverage our voice to remind people to support our local small business community that makes Montco such a special place. Ordering carry out and buying gift cards can help keep our businesses open, and purchasing these new #MontCoStrong T-shirts will support the community,” Edward Harris, chief marketing officer for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention
Board, said in the release.
The tourism board is also continuing to raise awareness and remind residents to support local businesses through blog content on its website, social media channels, and billboards.
To order a shirt, visit https://www.valleyforge. org/montco-strong-tshirts/, or https://www. djbspecialties.com/showrooms.htm.
The MontcoPA COVID-19 Response Fund was launched March 26, seeded with an initial $250,000. Nonprofit organizations serving Montgomery County can apply for grants of up to $5,000 to support their relief efforts. The Fund is a partnership between Montgomery County HealthSpark Foundation, Montgomery County Foundation, Inc., VNA Foundation
of Greater North Penn, BLBB Charitable, AmerisourceBergen Foundation, Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, Inc., Genuardi Family Foundation, and Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia, and the County’s three nonprofit collaboratives — BuxMont Collaborative, TriCounty Community Network and the Interagency Council of Norristown.
Donations can be made directly to the fund online at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19, or by check payable to Montgomery County Foundation Inc., with MontcoPA COVID-19 Response Fund in the memo, and mailed to Montgomery County Foundation, Inc., 4 Sentry Parkway, #302, Blue Bell, PA 19422. The Montgomery County Foundation Inc.’s EIN is 23-3070457.