Impact
Young people are at the heart of what we do. Here are some stories of the impact we have had on our community.
Brian’s Story
The simple gift of creativity
One of our favorite memories is of a bright young student named Brian.
We were doing a songwriting workshop at a school just outside Charlotte, NC. During the workshop, one especially curious young man kept asking about guitar, so he was shown a few chords during the breaks. Afterwards, we thought we could do more so we called up the music therapist at the school and asked about Brian. As it turned out, he really wanted to learn guitar but simply didn’t have access to that opportunity at home. Without a second thought, we purchased a guitar for Brian and customized it with our corporate graphics, which included our logo along with Brian’s name prominently displayed.
Several weeks later we returned to the school, guitar in hand, while they were hosting an awards ceremony for the students. With Brian by our side on stage, a quick speech about the value of learning and creativity was given. We then presented Brian with a Perfectly Afflicted shirt and his brand new customized guitar.
While Chris Hendricks performed John Lennon’s “Imagine,” for the student body using Brian’s new guitar, Brian helped out using sign language. Here’s the twist. Brian is a student with special needs, but you didn’t know that until now. With the instrument at his fingertips, Brian’s label has permanently shifted from special needs child to musician. The look on Brian’s face afterwards taught us to never underestimate the power of a single giving moment – a moment we won’t soon forget.
With your support, we can create many more life changing moments just like this for other deserving individuals we meet along our journey.
The HopeLine Connection
Giving hope a broader reach
In the Fall of 2015, a marketing manager from a local restaurant stopped in our offices to drum up some business by offering free appetizer coupons. She noticed the bins of t-shirts against the back wall and inquired about our business. After a nice conversation about our mission to reduce teen suicide, she went on her way. Later that day, as she was making her rounds, she met an individual at another organization and immediately called me.
The organization is HopeLine – a crisis hotline located in Raleigh, NC servicing the entire country. Within minutes we were having an e-mail discussion with the director – the alignment was amazing. We arranged a meeting at the HopeLine office to see how we could work together. The director informed us that their funding had been drastically cut and that they were down to one person manning the phone. The stress was very evident when during our meeting a call came in to the crisis line while the crisis specialist was on the phone handling another call. Obviously, this was not the ideal situation.
The director informed us that this was the unfortunate reality due to budget cuts. HopeLine then applied for a grant to purchase additional equipment in order to rectify the situation. The grant was denied and things were not looking good. At this point we asked if we could see the grant list. After reviewing the list, we informed the folks at HopeLine that we had their back. We didn’t know how, but we were confident that we could fix the problem.
In December of 2105, we arrived at the office of HopeLine with computers, telephones, office equipment, furniture, and office supplies. This single delivery will enable HopeLine to dramatically expand their capacity to field calls.
None of this would have been possible without the people that help us help others. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your generous support.
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