January Charity of the Month - Team in Training

In 2008 I completed an Olympic distance Triathlon. Notice I used the word “completed” and not “competed”. My objective was to finish, not win. I did finish the tri, but I didn’t do it alone. I trained for and participated in the triathlon with Team in Training. TNT, as it is affectionately referred to, trains athletes for endurance events to raise money and awareness for the Leukimia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). It’s the LLS’s mission to cure blood cancers and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

I decided to sign up for a triathlon not because I like blisters and chaffing, but because 16 months prior I lost a good friend to cancer. Every participant has their own reasons for joining the team. Some like the challenge of an endurance event (triathlons, marathons, cycling and hiking), some have lost loved ones to cancer, some are cancer survivivers, and some are living with cancer.

This is how it works... You sign up for an event, TNT’s professional coaches and returning alumni (or mentors as they’re called) prepare and train you for your event and you fundraise for the LLS.

According to their website, TNT has trained over half a million runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers and raised over $1.2 billion to fund lifesaving cancer research. TNT will always have a very special place in my heart and that’s why I’m very happy that they are our first charity of the month of 2012.

A portion of sales for every shirt sold in January goes to the Leukimia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. So now’s the time to pick up a tee you’ve been wanting and help support this wonderful charity, and help TomboyTeez Give Back, one t-shirt at a time.

Cat Crimins

Tomboy In Charge

 

December Charity of the Month

Our December Charity of the Month is The Sunshine Kids. That means a portion of the proceeds from every shirt sold in December goes to support this great charity.



It’s The Sunshine Kids Foundation’s goal to add quality of life to children with cancer by providing them with exciting, positive group activities, so they may once again do what kids are supposed to do... have fun and celebrate life!

“The Sunshine Kids Foundation was founded by Rhoda Tomasco in 1982 while she was serving as a volunteer in the pediatric cancer unit of a hospital in Houston, Texas. After seeing the loneliness and depression among children during their extended hospital treatments, Rhoda had a vision to provide these young cancer patients with opportunities to participate in positive group activities which promoted self-esteem, personal accomplishment and just plain old fashioned fun! Today, that vision has been realized many times over, as thousands of children from hospitals across the country have reaped the benefits of The Sunshine Kids Foundation’s many programs and national and regional events. Funded by personal contributions, corporations and foundations, the Sunshine Kids continues, as it has since its inception, to provide all of its activities completely free of charge to the children’s families and hospitals.”

– The Sunshine Kid’s Website

So go to TomboyTeez.com and pick up a tee or two and make a difference today. Help us save the world, one t-shirt at a time. Visit our website to learn more about our TomboyTeez Gives Back programs, and for a look at this and the other charities we are supporting.

Thanks,
Cat Crimins

November Charity Of The Month

Our November Charity of the Month is Equality Now. That means a portion of the proceeds from every shirt sold in November goes to support this amazing charity that fights for women’s rights all over the world. Some of the issues that Equality Now is fighting globally are sex trafficking, female genital mutilation and sexual violence against girls and woman. 

“Equality Now works for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls around the world. Working with grassroots women’s and human rights organizations and individual activists since 1992, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support efforts to stop these abuses.”

– Equality Now Website

Equality Now also happens to be a charity that Joss Whedon is very passionate about. And we just happen to love Joss Whedon, so we are very proud to be helping out Equality Now as much as we can. His passion for this organization has inspired Firefly fans everywhere. Can’t Stop the Serenity is a fan-run fundraiser that screens Serenity in theaters to raise money for Equality Now. Can’t Stop the Serenity has raised over half a million dollars for Equality Now in just 5 years.

Why Joss Whedon inspires so much loyalty and devotion among his fans is a topic for another email. Why Joss Whedon is passionate about Equality Now is quite simple. As long as women around the world are victims of violence and discrimination, Equality Now will be there fighting the good fight. Watch Joss’s inspirational call to action.

So get a Firefly inspired tee, or any TomboyTeez.com tee and make a difference today. Help us save the world, one t-shirt at a time. Visit our website to learn more about our TomboyTeez Gives Back programs, and for a look at this and the other charities we our supporting.

Our October Charity of the Month

Our October Charity of the Month is one that is very dear to me personally. I have been a part of many non-profit organizations and charity events, but Shane's Inspiration is one of my favorites. Not only do they do wonderful things for families with all abilities, but they are simply a great bunch of people to be around!

The mission of Shane's Inspiration is to foster a bias-free world for children with disabilities through the creation of inclusive playgrounds and programs.

Shane's Inspiration was co-founded in 1998 by Tiffany Harris and her friends, Catherine Curry-Williams and Scott Williams in memory of their son, Shane Alexander. Shane's Inspiration has evolved into a widely recognized, international non-profit, creating Universally Accessible Playgrounds and programs that integrate children of all abilities socially, physically and emotionally, fostering acceptance, friendship and understanding. To date they have created 40 playgrounds, 3 in conjunction with the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic - Paralympic Games, as well as the first accessible playground in the country of Mexico.

Shane's Inspiration's full spectrum service programs work in partnership with municipalities, community groups and families to ensure the successful fruition of universally accessible playground. They are the only non-profit organization implementing full curriculum ability awareness educational programming that works in tandem with accessible playgrounds, creating a powerful global inclusionary awareness legacy which transforms the lives of thousands of children each year.

So please buy one of our teez, and a portion of all the sales in October goes to help support this wonderful organization. Stop by their website to see how else you can help. They need volunteers for their play dates and for their events. This is a very rewarding organization to work with. These children will amaze and move you, and the organizers will become family.

Warmest regards,




Allison Brockford
Managing Director

Japanese Red Cross Is Our September Charity

On March 11th, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan. Minutes later a 23 foot high tsunami hit the Northeast coast of the country, wiping out entire towns in its wake. The images of the devastation are almost unbelievable. 

It has been six months since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Over 20,000 people are confirmed dead or missing and tens of thousands are still in temporary housing. The search and rescue crews are all gone. Now the clean up and restoration are in full swing. It’s estimated that it will take 3 years to clean up the 25 million tons of debris and rubble left behind where buildings and homes once stood. Roads need to be rebuilt and power and water services need to be restored. People’s lives need to be pieced back together. The real work in Japan has only just begun. 
That’s why we’ve chosen the Japanese Red Cross as our September Charity of the Month. A portion of all t-shirt sales in the month of September will go directly to this worthy organization. 



Donations to the JRC go to such services as:

• Building temporary housing
• Providing healthcare 
• Supporting orphaned children and the elderly

So start shopping at TomboyTeez.com and make a difference today. Help us save the world, one t-shirt at a time. Visit our website to learn more about our TomboyTeez Gives Backprograms, and for a look at this and the other charities we our supporting. 

Take care,

Cat Crimins

The Greater Good

Fighting for the Greater Good is something that is very important to us. It’s what started Xena down the road to redemption... Why Han, Leia and Luke were fighting the Evil Empire... Why Mulder and Scully were searching for the truth... The Greater Good is worth fighting for. It’s helping those who can’t help themselves. It’s doing whatever you can to make the world a better place. And now TomboyTeez.com is joining the fight.

We are pleased to announce our Charity of the Month program. Starting in August, we’ll choose one charity to spotlight every month. During that entire month, a portion of the proceeds from every shirt sold on our website will be donated to that charity. It’s our way of giving back and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

August 2011’s charity is Real Medicine Foundation. RMF provides humanitarian support to disaster and poverty stricken areas. They operate in over 15 countries on 4 different continents. What sets them apart from other disaster relief organizations is the idea of establishing a long-term solution.

“Real Medicine Foundation provides humanitarian support to people living in disaster and poverty stricken areas, and continues to help communities long after the world’s spotlight has faded. We believe that ‘real’ medicine is focused on the person as a whole by providing medical/physical, emotional, economic and social support. 

Real Medicine Foundation’s vision is to move beyond traditional humanitarian aid programs by creating long-term solutions to health care and poverty related issues, focusing on development and capacity building. By empowering people and providing them with the necessary resources, we pave the way for communities to become strong and self-sufficient.” — Real Medicine Foundation, 2010

Some of Real Medicine Foundation’s programs include Maternal Child Healthcare, Malnutrition Eradication, HIV/AIDS Care, Malaria Treatment and Prevention, and Microfinance and Livelihood projects. Their efforts are truly global, including initiatives in Japan, Haiti, India, Uganda and even here at home in the US. 

So start shopping at TomboyTeez.com and make a difference today. Help us save the world, one t-shirt at a time. Visit our website to learn more about our TomboyTeez Gives Backprograms, and for a look at this and the other charities we our supporting.

Thanks,

Cat Crimins

TomboyTeez.com Does Dallas!

                                              

TomboyTeez.com has been around since the fall of 2009 but only a few people knew about it back then. Included in those few were two of my best friends, Allison ("Ali") and Stephanie ("Brock") Brockford. I enlisted them in January of 2010 to help me bring TomboyTeez (or TTZ as we affectionately call it) to life. Ali has design and screen printing experience and Stephanie has marketing and web design experience. So we joined forces and started building TomboyTeez.com. We opened for business officially in December of 2010 and we were all so proud of our web baby we could hardly stand it. 

Then in February of this year my partners in crime told me they were leaving Los Angeles and moving to Dallas (that’s in Texas). Brock was born and raised in Dallas, and LA had little left to offer this young family. “Los Angeles was not working out for us as a family. We want our daughter to grow up in a nice house, in a safe neighborhood. With the way things were going, that was never going to happen.” – Ali.

Leaving LA: An Odyssey
As you can imagine pulling up stakes and moving a family of three 1,400 miles away was a snap. No problem. Easy peasy. Or not.

 

On Sunday March 20th, as all of their worldly possessions were on a moving truck bound for Texas, The Brockfords were trying to escape LA. Ali needed to start her new job at 9am Monday morning and Los Angeles was experiencing its biggest rain storm in recent memory. And we’re not just talking about a wimpy Southern California rain storm; we’re talking serious down pour. That day they dealt with canceled flights, long ticket counter lines, a stir crazy 18 month old, stand by lists, plane changes, late airport shuttles and closed rental car companies. But they made it to Brock’s Dad’s place by 3am, giving Ali a few hours to rest before her first day at her new job. “That was a rough, long day, and the next day was pretty difficult for Ali. But I do have to say that I really felt a sense of accomplishment that we even made it!” – Brock. 

I’m glad they survived that day and made it in one piece. I couldn’t be prouder of them for making the move. Dallas is lucky to have them. I miss them like crazy but thanks to TTZ we talk and text constantly and Skype remind us of what each other looks like.

Los Angeles’ Loss Is Dallas’ Gain
I have to say I wasn’t thrilled to find out that three of my favorite humans would be moving several states away but I knew it was a great decision for the Brockfords. And I also knew that the day to day operations of TomboyTeez would not be affected. In fact the T-shirts don’t know the Brockfords have moved. Shhhh. “Actually the distance and time change has probably forced us to be more on top of communication and timelines.” Brock adds “If anything, it’s opened us up to new opportunities in a different market – like the chance to do Dallas Pride!” Speaking of Dallas Pride...

TomboyTeez Does Dallas…Y’all!
So now its summer of 2011 and the Brockfords are settling into their new home quite nicely and we’re all still basking in the awesomeness that was LA Pride. What better way to celebrate our friends’ new hometown than by going to Dallas Pride? So its official, if you’re going to be in the Dallas area on Sunday September 18th, come on down to the Dallas Pride Festival and visit our booth! You can give the Brockfords a “welcome to Texas” hand shake or high five and pick up a TomboyTee or two. More details about the event as we get closer to September.