7 Features Editor Samantha Safchinsky Features
7 Features Editor Samantha Safchinsky [email protected]
Jeremy Rodriguez Assistant A&E Editor Lindsay Powell was shocked by what she was told. “That’s amazing,” Powell said. “I literally had no idea.” The shock came after the senior law and justice and applied sociology double major was told about her “Keep Calm and Stay Jersey Strong” project being featured on the “Giving U: 10 Charity Projects by University Students” list on WorldWideLearn. com. The list featured community service projects started by college students across the country. Powell started her project after seeing pictures of her friends’ destroyed homes after Superstorm Sandy. After some careful thinking, she came up with the idea of selling T-shirts in the Student Center and donating the proceeds to the American Red Cross. The T-shirts featured the New Jersey map and said “Keep Calm and Stay Jersey Strong.” “I was going to get 100 shirts printed, sell them in the Student Center, hopefully make a couple hundred bucks and donate it,” Powell said. The project exceeded her expectations. Through cooperation with 2002 Rowan graduate Adam Szyfman and his business Ace Screen Printing, the project expanded to sell not only T-shirts, but also sweatshirts and hoodies. Szyfman then opened up an online retail store for Ace Screen Printing to promote the project. It was the first time the store experimented with re-
Thursday, January 31, 2013
tail. As a result, the project went viral and ended up raising $2,000 in its first week, helping to raise a total of $3,500. Powell recognized the power of the social media campaign. Customers were ordering clothing from all over the country. There was one instance where a California customer asked Powell to rush an order because her cousins were visiting from Costa Rica and she wanted to make sure the clothing was delivered on time. Powell’s friend, senior applied sociology major Marlee Lynch, helped put some of the orders in boxes and was amazed by how far the campaign spread. “It wasn’t just a New Jersey thing,” Lynch said. “People from all over the country were getting merchandise sent to them. It was awesome to see how quickly people responded and came together to support such a great cause. She [Powell] genuinely did not expect [the project] to be that huge, she just wanted to do something to help and it turned into this amazing fundraiser.” Another thing Powell did not expect from this project was to build her resume. The American Red Cross was so impressed with her efforts that they offered her an internship at the South Jersey Chapter in Sewell. As for the fundraiser being featured on WorldWideLearn’s website, Szyfman believes it is a step in the right direction for Rowan and for the reputation of college students. “There are so many negative connotations of college students drinking and partying and doing things they’re not supposed to be doing,” Szyfman
Lindsay Powell donates the money she earned to a woman at the American Red Cross. -Photo courtesy of Lindsay Powell said. “And here’s a perfect example of how one bad egg isn’t what college life is all about. There are way more charitable things college kids do and this is an example of one of them.”
For comments/questions about the story, email [email protected] or tweet @thewhitfeatures.
Jeremy Rodriguez Assistant A&E Editor Lindsay Powell was shocked by what she was told. “That’s amazing,” Powell said. “I literally had no idea.” The shock came after the senior law and justice and applied sociology double major was told about her “Keep Calm and Stay Jersey Strong” project being featured on the “Giving U: 10 Charity Projects by University Students” list on WorldWideLearn. com. The list featured community service projects started by college students across the country. Powell started her project after seeing pictures of her friends’ destroyed homes after Superstorm Sandy. After some careful thinking, she came up with the idea of selling T-shirts in the Student Center and donating the proceeds to the American Red Cross. The T-shirts featured the New Jersey map and said “Keep Calm and Stay Jersey Strong.” “I was going to get 100 shirts printed, sell them in the Student Center, hopefully make a couple hundred bucks and donate it,” Powell said. The project exceeded her expectations. Through cooperation with 2002 Rowan graduate Adam Szyfman and his business Ace Screen Printing, the project expanded to sell not only T-shirts, but also sweatshirts and hoodies. Szyfman then opened up an online retail store for Ace Screen Printing to promote the project. It was the first time the store experimented with re-
Thursday, January 31, 2013
tail. As a result, the project went viral and ended up raising $2,000 in its first week, helping to raise a total of $3,500. Powell recognized the power of the social media campaign. Customers were ordering clothing from all over the country. There was one instance where a California customer asked Powell to rush an order because her cousins were visiting from Costa Rica and she wanted to make sure the clothing was delivered on time. Powell’s friend, senior applied sociology major Marlee Lynch, helped put some of the orders in boxes and was amazed by how far the campaign spread. “It wasn’t just a New Jersey thing,” Lynch said. “People from all over the country were getting merchandise sent to them. It was awesome to see how quickly people responded and came together to support such a great cause. She [Powell] genuinely did not expect [the project] to be that huge, she just wanted to do something to help and it turned into this amazing fundraiser.” Another thing Powell did not expect from this project was to build her resume. The American Red Cross was so impressed with her efforts that they offered her an internship at the South Jersey Chapter in Sewell. As for the fundraiser being featured on WorldWideLearn’s website, Szyfman believes it is a step in the right direction for Rowan and for the reputation of college students. “There are so many negative connotations of college students drinking and partying and doing things they’re not supposed to be doing,” Szyfman
Lindsay Powell donates the money she earned to a woman at the American Red Cross. -Photo courtesy of Lindsay Powell said. “And here’s a perfect example of how one bad egg isn’t what college life is all about. There are way more charitable things college kids do and this is an example of one of them.”
For comments/questions about the story, email [email protected] or tweet @thewhitfeatures.
