#MontCoStrong T-shirt sale reaches goal

Effort raises $25,000 for COVID-19 Response Fund

UPPER MERION » The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board’s #MontCoStrong T-shirt sale has wrapped up, after raising $25,000 to support the MontcoPA COVID-19

Response Fund.

The sale was launched by the tourism board in April. Since then, more than 700 T-shirts were sold for $25 each. Initially, the sale was slated to end in June, but was extended through Oct. 9 with a goal of raising more than $25,000. The effort included a $5,000 donation in July from the Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority.

“We can’t thank the Montco community enough for their generosity,” Mike

Bowman, president & CEO of the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board, said in a press release. “So many are struggling right now, and it means a lot to help those in need. We’re not surprised. We knew we could count on people coming together because this county truly is #MontCoStrong. That’s what’s going to get us through this.”

Proceeds from each sale were donated to the Response Fund, which was established at the end of March to support local relief efforts in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The fund supports community safety net organizations, including those serving low-income and food-insecure residents, senior citizens, veterans, homeless and homebound individuals.

The #MontCoStrong Tshirt was designed by the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board. The organization then partnered with DJB Specialties Inc. in North Wales, which specializes in custom apparel and promotional products. 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. The company printed and packaged the shirts and hosted the website for the sales.

The MontcoPA COVID-19 Response 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 are also founding partners. The partners seeded the fund with $250,000. By mid-August, nearly $859,000 had been raised so far for the MontcoPA COVID-19 Response, with $739,000 in grants awarded to Montgomery County COVID-19 relief efforts.

For more information or to make a donation to the fund, visit www.montcopa. org/COVID-19.