Shirt The Kids: Christmas 2011

Zar Javier and his clothing company, Pnoy Apparel, based in San Diego, CA, have come a long way from the junior high school days--scheming with his buddies (the same friends are now his business partners), and from that initial trip out to Rutgers University in 1999 to promote and sell merchandise.
This Christmas, the foundation that has shaped his own individual goals, while contributing to the backbone of Pnoy Apparel’s mission, will make its way to Manila, Philippines.

The Shirt the Kids Foundation (STK) in collaborative efforts with countless donors (artists lending their time and talents, media, volunteers from various college organizations, and customers alike) will directly reach the benefactors of this charitable cause.

On Christmas Day, 500 shirts will be distributed to children throughout the streets of Manila, those without homes, destitute, and living in squalor.  Additionally, a hundred children at a local hospital, afflicted with cancer will receive Christmas gifts thanks to the funds that were raised these past few years.
Weeks prior, October 11, 2011 marked the initial round of drop-offs in the Philippines.  A local elementary school in Iloilo hosted the long-awaited affair.  With the support of the Oton mayor and local affiliates, 500 Sammy the Sunshine Tees were handed out to the local children as well as necessary school supplies.

Numerous events in the past few years were promoted and held in the name of the Shirt the Kids movement throughout the United States.  The collective effort of countless parties in the community made such a tremendous impact--it was able to provide the necessary platform for awareness, propelling the Shirt the Kids message to spread to an even greater audience.  
Javier is continually inspired and humbled by the support both entities have received:  “The best thing about all of this, is all the people we’ve met, the relationships we’ve built, even with those we’ve never met...the folks at the shows.  It’s been a beautiful experience.”

2012 is promising for the Shirt the Kids and Pnoy Apparel crew (stay tuned!), but for now, this holiday season, besides their annual “Brown Elephant” gift exchange to look forward to, another similar exchange will take precedence, but only this time, in a different part of the world.