Southfitters donates #AlbanyStrong shirt proceeds

ALBANY — Albany storm relief efforts got an important boost this week when Southfitters donated its portion of the proceeds from the popular #AlbanyStrong T-shirt sales to Mission:Change.

Southfitters General Manager Jason Mulford was on hand Monday morning to present a $21,000 check to Mission:Change co-founder and Executive Director LaDonna Urick.

The sizable donation was made possible by the sale of more than 1,200 T-shirts emblazoned with the #AlbanyStrong logo and a rendering of the famed oak canopy along Albany’s Third Avenue, which took a tremendous hit when 85-mph straight-line winds tore through a large portions of the community on Jan. 2.

“It’s surreal, absolutely surreal,” Mulford said of the number of shirts sold, some of which have been shipped as far away as Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and Guam. “Originally we thought, ‘We’ll raise a few thousand dollars.’ And the community rallied behind it.”

Mulford said the idea for selling the T-shirts in his family’s Albany Mall retail store came about quickly following the storm and that things really took off faster than he expected. Fortunately, he got a phone call from Flint Equipment Co. marketing specialist Christie Cannon-Cole who offered that company’s support.

“When the community rallied behind us and we saw the numbers, it scared me. It absolutely scared me a little bit,” Mulford said. “Christie (Cannon-Cole) at Flint Ag called me and said, ‘We’re in. We’re here to help you however we need to.’ And with that help, it allowed us to really facilitate the amount of shirts and get them out there to the public.”

By selling the shirts at both Southfitters and Flint Ag & Turf (a division of Flint Equipment), organizers generated a total of $27,000 (Flint’s $6,000 donation will be made in the coming days) for relief efforts to be administered in the community through Mission:Change.

“Mission:Change is a charity that supports our local community, and we knew that it would allow the donation to get in the hands of the people that needed it most,” said Mulford. “LaDonna and (husband) Todd (Urick) with Mission:Change have done a lot for the community over the years, and we just felt this was a great way for us to give back and keep everything local.”

LaDonna Urick confirmed that the money will be used locally for a variety of purposes, including helping residents with housing, groceries and any other needs they may have in the wake of not only the Jan. 2 storm but the series of storms that rocked Dougherty and some surrounding counties Jan. 22.

“One hundred percent of it is going to go right back into our community,” Urick said. “So this check means so much to us because we can continue the work that we’re doing.”

Urick said the funds will be distributed as Mission:Change volunteers, who are already out in the community, gather more data about what things storm victims need. She also said people who might need help, or know of members of the community who do, can check the organization’s website, www.missionchange.com, as well as its Facebook page, and Twitter and Instagram accounts for more details.

“We’re just asking people to follow (what we’re doing),” she said. “We’ll be sending out newsletter information and ways that you can serve and ways that you can help. And if you know a family and you know the details of that family and you can get those to us, that would be amazing as well.

“We just look forward to working with our community in a situation where we’ve never worked with them before.”

As for additional #AlbanyStrong T-shirts, Mulford said there are several still available for purchase at both Southfitters and Flint Ag & Turf and that additional shirts will likely be ordered. He also said that additional funds raised will continue going to Mission:Change to help the Albany community that has been so good to his family (which also owns The Shoe Box).

“Literally, our family has been here since the early 1900s, and this community has always supported us,” Mulford said. “So given the ability for us to support our community and give back was very meaningful for us and allowed us to do for them everything they’ve done for us since 1961 in the shoe business. Without them we could have never made this donation.”

Mulford also added that other T-shirt designs are being consider for future sale, to again support #AlbanyStrong relief efforts.