For the last five years, Daily Planet Productions has teamed with StreetWise and 20 local artists to make hand-screened designer t-shirts and other merchandise for an annual campaign called Give A Shi*t.
Give A Shi*t donates 100% of its profits to StreetWise, which has received more than $100,000 from the campaign to date.
This year’s line of t-shirts will debut at a pop-up shop on Thursday December 5th and Friday December 6th from 11am to 7pm at the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.
“People in Chicago are always looking for different ways to give back to those in need and Give A Shi*t offers a chance to buy meaningful holiday gifts for friends and family while supporting the hard-working vendors of StreetWise,” said Scott Marvel, President of Daily Planet Productions.
A sampling of designs from the 2019 ‘Give A Shi*t’ line
StreetWise helps homeless and at-risk individuals seeking to build a better life with employment opportunities. It provides a dignified means of addressing the crisis of poverty and homelessness, and allows individuals with immediate access to a respectable and legitimate earned income through their own hard work.
Well-known on the streets of Chicago, StreetWise vendors make their own way to the StreetWise office where they pay $0.90 for the magazine they sell for $2.00, making a $1.10 profit on each sale.
“This is a great opportunity for StreetWise and our vendors who work at the shop. It extends our mission to ‘give a hand up, not a hand out’ as our vendors work to earn an income at the pop-up store, just as they do each day with their magazine sales” said Julie Youngquist, Executive Director of StreetWise. “We are so fortunate to have found such generous partners at Daily Planet and with local artists who are committed to making a difference in our city.”
In addition to being sold at the pop-up shop December 5th and 6th, the shirts can also be purchased online at www.giveashirt.net. Each t-shirt is sold for $25 and there are also tote bags, notebooks, coffee mugs, posters and hand towels for sale.
Send your campaign updates to Reel Chicago Editor Dan Patton, dan@reelchicago.com.
