Regina teacher, students promote free hugs for non-profit

A Regina teacher and hisSaskatchewanPolytechnicmarketing students are giving back to thecommunity.

TeacherJephMaystruckhas made socialenterprisea priority in his curriculum. He and his students have created a T-shirt company called Uplifting T-shirts.

They sell shirts for $30 dollars each, and all the proceeds go towards the local non-profit organization Carmichael Outreach.

The organization is on the frontline of mental illness, poverty, addictions and homelessness in Regina.

"We sold 60 T-shirts in seven days," Maystruck said. "All I said was, 'What if we had longer?'"

The project proved students could successfully run a business, but it also proved they could do something meaningful, he said.

From concept to community

Uplifting T-shirts is in its second year.

At the start of the semester, Maystruckraises the idea and students take it from there.

They learn practicalskills from proposal to designto marketing to customer service. Studentsexperience failures and "break some rules" along the way.

Maystrucksaid theapproach ensuresstudents retain what they learn.

"Forget the theory, throw them under the fire and watch them learn," he said.

"The second you empower somebody, it is the greatest thing in the world."

This year's shirts arebright pink, have a teddy bear on the front and offer free hugs.Last year's said, "Kindness is contagious, pass it on."

Shift to social enterprise

Maystrucksaid business isn't just about profit anymore.

"When you read business books at the end of the book it says'but noneof this matters unless you give back,'and so for the last five years I've been pulling out my hair literally saying business doesn't work unless you give back."

Maystruckhad Tyler Gray fromCarmichaelOutreach speak to his classabout socialenterprise.

People respond differently to a T-shirt fundraiser than they do to us asking for money,- Tyler Gray,CarmichaelOutreach

"You could see the lights turnon," Maystruck said.

According to Maystruck, the studentswere captivated by the idea that they could make money by giving back tothe community.

That's why the kidschose to partner with the non-profit.

Summer season hardest time for non-profits

Gray, interim executive director ofCarmichaelOutreach, saidcontributions are alwayshelpful, but they areparticularly so in the summer because donations drop dramatically in the warmer months.

"People respond differently to a T-shirt fundraiser than they do to us asking for money," he said.

Gray said it's always helpful when businesses generaterevenue for the non-profit, and it doesn't matter if it's a $15,000 donation or one the price of aT-shirt.

"It's a way to get the community connected to the conversation around homelessness, addictions, mental illness,poverty," he said, noting that projects like this helpchangethe narrative around those issues.

Gray has worked with the non-profit for three yearsand has seen a steady increase in demand for its services.

"Our meal program went from 37,000 meals the first year I was here, and this year we're on pace for a little over 60,000," he said.

The housing program has also grown, not only in number but in thecomplexity of the issues, he said.

"You really do see those numbers increasing year over year and you really see the challenges that a lot of people face that I think kind of get hidden."