QUIET HEROES: Proceeds of T-shirt sales to go to fire aid
The shirts cost $20 and only be purchased at wildfiretees.com.
Also, check out The Gazette's Give Help/Get Help, which runs down donation and aid opportunities.
Just as quickly as the wildfires in Colorado have spread, residents have scrambled to find ways to help.
On Wednesday, a group of graphic designers from Colorado Springs officially launched Wild Fire Tees, a website that sells nine fire-themed T-shirts. The group plans to donate all proceeds to Care and Share and the Colorado Red Cross.
The idea was pitched to friends and co-workers on Monday by Austin Buck, co-owner of CoPilot Creative, a small Springs-based graphic design firm. Buck was inspired by a similar charity near his hometown of Austin, TX.
"I've been trying to get designers together to do something cool," Buck said. "It just clicked."
Buck had previously volunteered at local charities, but he was searching for a way to start something on a larger scale.
"I didn't want to just write a $100 check," he said.
After getting everyone on board earlier this week, Buck and his team rushed to create designs and get the site running. Their initial goal was to sell 100 shirts. In the 24 hours after the site launched at noon Wednesday, they had raised $100,000.
With such an overwhelming and unexpected response, the group has set a new goal: $500,000. The future for the site is open-ended, Buck said. He plans to just wait and see how far it goes.
The designers involved will have to find a balance between their professional work and this volunteer effort, he said. However, he is taken aback by the initial success.
"It's heartwarming. I never expected this."