Sieng LaoRadio Facebook Photo Post

This morning I received a call from Bev Korasack (from Fairchild Radio's Sieng Lao Radio program) who had attended the Saturday fundraiser in Port Hope, Ontario. During over brief conversation, she informed me that she had posted a photo on their Facebook page. It shows her at the radio station wearing the Adopt a Village in Laos T-shirt which I had presented to her that Saturday night.

New Order of Tees On The Way

A second batch (20 in all) of Adopt a Village in Laos t-shirts is currently on order. This is very exciting!

Information Display

On Saturday, July 16, I initiated the first in a series of information displays, which will be set up on select days each week for the next several weeks, outside my neighbourhood cafe, Java Jive. I decided to take this approach to give the organization a more visible presence. Such a strategy will hopefully encourage passersby to stop and engage in conversation with me.

The display is very simply laid out and primarily focuses on water filters. The secondary focus is the promotion of my 'Adopt a Village in Laos' T-shirts. Sign up sheets for both water filters and T-shirts are readily available.

First Batch of T-shirts Almost Gone!

I am absolutely amazed by what has happened in the space of less than a week. When I picked up my first order of shirts last Thursday, I had no idea that they would sell so quickly. I am happy to report that of the seventeen which I had available to sell I only have three left. Now I will definitely have to order more.

A week from this Saturday night I am planning to set up a small information table at my neighbourhood cafe, Java Jive. In addition to handing out literature and running a multimedia presentation on my laptop, I will have a T-shirt sample on display to show to passersby. I will also have forms on hand so that I can take pre-orders for the next batch of shirts.

The 'Adopt a Village in Laos' T-shirt

Yesterday morning before work, I picked up my T-shirt order from Has Marketing. Shortly after arriving at work, I opened the box and pulled out one of the shirts. I was absolutely delighted with the result and shared that excitement with some of my co-workers.

That evening I dropped by Java Jive, my friendly neighbourhood cafe, and showed one of the shirts to some friends on the patio. One of them had promised to buy one and, true to her word, she did. My first actual sale!

This morning while at the cafe,  I showed some of my other friends one of the shirts and, in short order, sold two more. Amazing!

To assist with sales of the shirts, I prominently displayed one of them inside the cafe.

With three sales now under my belt and three orders pending, this is a fantastic start to this new project.

T-Shirt Design Proofs

At the beginning of the week, I submitted my designs to Has Marketing for an Adopt a Village in Laos T-shirt. After a couple of days of tweaking, I finalized the designs and emailed them this morning before heading out to work. Late this afternoon I received a proof, which shows how the designs will look on the shirt itself. The actual colour for the shirt will be forest green.

The front of the shirt sports the organization name, its focus, and the web site. The O's in Adopt a Village in Laos have been transformed into baci strings, which are an integral element of hill tribe culture and basically represent good fortune. The back of the shirt is adorned with Lao script and the translation, which appears directly below it, expresses what this organization represents.

Tomorrow morning I will venture to Has Marketing to finalize the order by putting down a fifty percent deposit. For this initial order, which will take about a week, I am only producing 20 shirts to see what the response will be from people first. Three of the shirts will be written off for me and the organization founders, Steve Rutledge and Mike Yap. The remaining 17 shirts will be available for sale starting July 10, with the proceeds going back to the organization to fund its various projects.