Friday, September 3, 2010

I Donated to Save a Bird’s Life…

…is the t-shirt slogan Matty (my son) and Maria (my niece) came up with to raise money for the birds of the gulf. Early this summer they sat together in the kitchen and talked about the t-shirt's design and wording until they found the perfect look. Using an art package on the computer, they pieced together icons to create their image and added the text, but that was just the beginning. They had to learn how to silk-screen because they wanted to make professional t-shirts that would last. So….they got a small silk-screening setup and practiced. My brother, Bill, set the screen up in his basement and helped them figure out all the technical stuff. Then the kids took over and made the shirts. The shirts practically flew off the shelves, and they sold every one, donating $425.00 to the National Audubon Society’s Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Fund. I’m so proud of them.

Matty and Maria are both skaters. Matty ice skates and plays ice hockey, and Maria quad skates and competes in artistic dance, so they decided to focus their efforts on skaters by creating the slogan "Skaters Helping the Birds of the Gulf." They were able to piece together icons to create the skating pelican, which I totally fell in love with, and aren't those little webbed pelican feet at the bottom cool? Maria came up with that finishing touch.

Maria pulls the shirt into place on the press.

Matty skims the paint over the press.

The kids made 60 shirts and sold them for $7.00 each. It takes a long time to hand silk-screen 60 shirts! They donated all the money they collected to Audubon, absorbing the cost of the t-shirts and the printing press.

After sending the money into Audubon, Les Corey, Chief Development Officer, sent them a lovely letter of thanks. He also offered them a challenge for the future:
“…take the next step: become more aware of your local environment and the plants and animals that live in your community. Audubon believes that by gaining knowledge of your local environment you will be able to protect it. You are the future protector of our planet and you can make a real difference for our future.”
Matty and Maria learned anyone can make a difference no matter how old they are. Put forth the effort, and good things happen. I’m so proud of them for coming up with the idea and following through with it.

The cool letter from Les Corey at Audubon.
Congrats, Kids!!!

30 comments:

Dawn Fine said...

What a wonderful thing to do! Koo-dos to these great kids!

Dawn Fine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Birding is Fun! said...

Great to see youth anxiously engaged in doing good!

Kathy A. Johnson said...

What an awesome project. They did a great job, and hopefully will remember how good they felt to help the birds.

Anonymous said...

That is great Kelly what an excellent achievement.

Warren Baker said...

Good on Matty and Maria !! An excellent gift to our world :-)

Out on the prairie said...

Totally amazing, this needs a bigger build, certainly they made the newspaper for this.If not let me know and I'd be happy to post a press release in your area.

Jenny said...

Absolutely brilliant Kelly! I'm not surprised that you're proud!

Montanagirl said...

Kelly, this is just terrific! What a great pair of kids, and congratulations to them for their great idea and efforts.

holdingmoments said...

Every reason to be proud Kelly; a great thing they did. The shirt design is excellent, very professional.

NCmountainwoman said...

Oh, you must be so proud of them. What a great thing for them to do.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Neat Kelly... I know you must be proud of both of them.. What a fabulous project. I love the design and the shirts... Wow--I'm impressed....

Thank them for me please for being so interested in the birds on the Gulf Coast.
Hugs,
Betsy

Jeni said...

Kudos to Matty and Maria !!!!

Elaine said...

Wow! What a great project they took on. In addition to helping the birds they learned not only that everyone can make a difference, but they learned some great problem solving and artistic skills. It is wonderful to see kids working so hard to make the world a better place. You and your brother have raised a couple of awesome kids.

Roy said...

Good for them! And good for the Audubon Society for responding in the way they did.

FAB said...

Please pass on my congratulations. Nice work guys and for an excellent cause. FAB.

Atanasio Fernández García said...

It is a wonderful initiative! Children are the hope of a better world! I also feel proud of them! Congratulaions!

Adrienne Zwart said...

That is so cool! I know you are so proud of them. And it shows that you've done an excellent job passing on your love of nature, too. Great job, Matty and Maria!!!

Wanda..... said...

Matty and Maria are two great kids, such creativeness and caring ways. I'm sure they are up to the "challenge."

myonlyphoto said...

Kelly this is amazing what Matty and Maria did. Congratulations to them. Job well done! Anna :)

Rural Rambler said...

Kelly you should be proud! What great kids and what a wonderful thing they did :)

Chad said...

What a fantastic article! On my behalf, please thank them for what they did - absolutely outstanding!

Laure Ferlita said...

Way to go Matty and Maria!!! Awesome job and a cool design!!!

Jayne said...

That is SO cool Kelly! I know you were beaming with pride. And, I love Matty's hair short like that. Tell him he looks really handsome!

Louise said...

What wonderful kids you have!

Janice K said...

That is wonderful! It is so great to see people, and especially young people, who have the passion and the willingness to do the work to make a differience in this world.

Elizabeth said...

Kids like these are our hope for the future! They are self-motivated and caring, and took action for a cause - thank you!

Not only that, but they created a great image; love the skates!

John said...

Well done, it is a wonderful achievement. We all have all been very concerned about the Birds and other Wildlife that have suffered because of the awful events that have been taking place because of the oil spill.

Will we ever learn.

John

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone! They did a fantastic job and learned a lot.

Prairie: ...we didn't send the story into the paper, just the money to Audubon, so this was their only play... Thank you!

Shirleyanne said...

Young people certainly to be proud of!!! Brilliant!