When disaster hit the Granite Mountain Hotshots Crew from Prescott, Ariz., taking the lives of 19 firefighters, Phoenix-based Stowebridge Promotion Group jumped in to help. On July 3, the company dedicated its art department and in-house screen-printing shop to producing 1000 shirts to donate to The Wildland Firefighter Foundation. The multi-colored design honored each member of the Hotshots crew with their name listed on the back of the shirt, along with the date and the name “Granite Mountain Hotshots.” The first batch of shirts sold out in an hour and a half.
Owners Ron and Kathy Thomas drove the shirts to Prescott and delivered them to the fundraising organization early on the morning of July 4. The 4th of July is one of Prescott’s biggest weekends for tourism with the Oldest Rodeo in the World, parade and many other events. Firefighters from all over the country were present, showing respect and support for their fallen brothers.
The firefighters took the shirts to the first of many events scheduled that day and sold out of them within an hour and a half, raising over $15,000 to help the families of the fallen heroes. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to the families. Another 1200 shirts were printed the following Monday to be sold at the memorial service for the firefighters held on Tuesday, July 9, raising the contribution to the families to over $30,000. The shirts were shown on several local TV stations as well as on NBC Nightly News.
“For us it was a gesture, a way to help out,” said Ron Thomas, owner of Stowebridge Promotion Group. “For the firefighters and their families, they gave everything to help others. We were just glad we could help by turning what we do every day into something good to help others. We have a great staff and everyone pulled together to make this happen quickly.”
For more information, visit www.stowebridge.com.
