TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Red Cross gets
shirt off Reyn’s backWords that began to raise skepticism after Sept. 11, "a portion of the proceeds," bore some fruit for the Hawaii chapter of the American Red Cross yesterday.
Kirk Hubbard, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Reyn Spooner, presented ARC-Hawaii chief executive Roger Dickson a $3,000 check.
The funds were "a portion of the proceeds" from actual and projected sales of specially designed patriotic shirts and don't represent an exact percentage, but an amount the company felt was fair, Hubbard said.
After Sept. 11 and the skyrocketing demand for all things red, white and blue, retailers offering Reyn Spooner designs quickly sold out.
"Annually we introduce a patriotic design before July the Fourth, it's something we've always done," he said. This year, though, the company introduced its Independence Day shirt early -- in January -- to meet the demand.
"After doing that we didn't have anything to offer for the normal period before July Fourth," Hubbard said.
The Reyn Spooner creative team came up with two designs, "Proud to be an American," in rayon, and "The Patriot," in a polyester-cotton blend the company calls "Spooner cloth." The shirts are available at a variety of retailers starting at $65.
"There was a lot of focus on New York during that time," Hubbard said, adding that the company wanted to focus on needs in Hawaii.
The funds will contribute to the agency's work to aid people following natural or man-made disasters from hurricanes to mercury spills, according to Jocelyn Collado, ARC-Hawaii director of communications.
"Those dollars are also used to train volunteers who eventually may respond to national disasters," as did some 60 Hawaii Red Cross volunteers who went to New York September, Collado said.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com