Heroic shirt helps raise funds for Ondoy victims
Posted on October 11th, 2009
Mark Gosingtian was not really aware of the impact of the damage brought by Ondoy, until he started receiving text messages about friends’ houses being already submerged by flood. This 22-year old fresh BFA Information Design graduate from Ateneo de Manila University, together with his friends decided to help out in Ateneo for a few days.
There he saw and experienced the heroic act of volunteerism. He saw there were a lot of people willing to help, to the point that some areas were overmanned. He also learned about several heroic stories of some people, how relief operations received an awesome number of responses, and how some people who couldn’t go out of their houses found ways to contribute.
These stories, and his personal experience, have made him believe that everyone was willing to help out, that everyone is a hero. He then created a graphic design with a catchy phrase, “Where I’m from, everyone’s a hero,â€Â and posted it in his blog.
His design spread like wildfire. It was reblogged by 1,600 people on Tumblr, shown on newspaper and TV and was used as profile pictures in various websites such as Twitter and Facebook. Gosingtian said, “I never expected it to get as much attention as it did,†adding that he even deleted the original files.
He then received comments on his website that he make shirts with the design printed on them. “They e-mailed me if they could also use it for events as campaigns, which brought me to realize that it would be a good way to raise funds and help areas affected by Ondoy,†he said.
Now, his design has evolved into a shirt business, and at the same time, another channel for people to help victims of Ondoy since substantial amount from the profits would go to them.
The t-shirts will be available on October 17, at the Doortech System showrooms in the Ortigas, Alabang and Pampanga home depots, and at the Fort MC Home Depot. Those who wish to make bulk orders (10 or more) can email Mark at heroshirtorders@yahoo.com or visit his blog at http://markgosingtian.tumblr.com for updates.
