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November 01, 2018

Slew of Shirts Raising Funds After Tree of Life Shooting

By  Theresa Hegel

Residents of Pittsburgh and beyond are coming together to support the Tree of Life synagogue in the wake of what is being called the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the U.S. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, more than $1 million was raised for the victims and their families within a day of the mass shooting.

The shooter, Robert Bowers, stormed into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Saturday, Oct. 27, wielding an AR-15 rifle and at least three handguns, according to reports. Spewing anti-Semitic slurs, he opened fire on congregants, killing 11 people. Several others, including law enforcement officers, were injured in the attack. On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted Bowers on 44 counts, including hate crimes.

A number of screen printers and artists in western Pennsylvania are selling memorial T-shirts to raise funds for victims of the attack. Tim Hindes, the CEO of a Pittsburgh marketing company, created a design that states “Stronger Than Hate” and merges the Jewish Star of David with the well-known Steelmark, the three diamonds found in the Pittsburgh Steelers logo. Ithen Global, a longtime custom apparel business based in Grove City, PA, printed 1,000 shirts bearing the design, which Hindes then donated to Tree of Life.

“After these shirts were given, we had a tremendous amount of people asking us if they could buy a shirt to show their support,” Ithen Global writes on its site. The company has printed more of the Stronger than Hate shirts and is selling them online and in select stores to help the victims’ families.

American Eagle Screen Print and Embroidery in Johnstown, PA, is selling a similar Stronger than Hate T-shirt, with all three of the Steelmark diamonds transformed into Stars of David. A portion of sales will be donated to Tree of Life.  “This is a tragedy that happened, but this is the good side of it, the feel good side of it,” American Eagle employee Jody Altemus told local news station WJAC. “If we sell a bunch of T-shirts, we can donate a lot of money potentially back to the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.”

Artist Chris Preksta partnered with Steel City clothing company to create a fundraising T-shirt that features a yellow heart broken up by Pittsburgh’s iconic three rivers. He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the idea was born after seeing people on social media share images of broken hearts on social media. “The crack down the center of the heart looked like a river. That immediately, of course, made me think of the three rivers,” Preksta says. According to Steel City, the broken heart design raised more than $100,000 for Tree of Life.

 

There were also several fundraising shirts posted on Custom Ink. Brian McDermott and Nate Meyers designed Squirrel Hill Strong T-shirts, which have raised more than $2,700. McDermott grew up in Squirrel Hill, and the father of one of his best friends was among those killed in the shooting, according to the Tribune-Review. Another shirt on Custom Ink, proclaiming “Light Conquers Darkness Pittsburgh Strong,” has raised about $800 for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s pro sports teams are also taking steps to memorialize the victims. The Penguins wore special patches on their uniforms during their Tuesday game against the Islanders. In addition, the team collected donations and held an auction to raise funds for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and another fund to help the police officers wounded in the attack.