Colorado Springs Creatives Lend a Hand with Ongoing Wildfire Relief Efforts
While the wildfires of last summer have long since ended, relief efforts are still underway across Colorado. In Colorado Springs, projects led by local creatives are raising funds and creating keepsakes for victims throughout the state.
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When a group of designers in Colorado Springs decided to sell t-shirts as a fundraiser for Colorado wildfire victims, news of the effort spread like, well, wildfire.
The group initially set out to sell about 200 t-shirts and raise $1,500. But when the first batch of eight limited edition designs launched last June, they immediately sold way more than $1,500 worth of shirts. In fact, within just the first 24 hours, over $47,000 in shirts had been purchased. All told, $550,000 is shirts were sold to buyers across the state, throughout the country, and around the world.
While Wildfire’s production of new t-shirt designs is paused for now, you can still purchase the iconic “C Fire” t-shirt for yourself or to be donated to a firefighter. And, according to the group’s spokesperson Tucker Wannamaker, there are some plans in the works for a resurgence later this year around the holidays. No specifics available about those plans for now, other than, according to Wannamaker, “We’re probably going to come out with some rad hoodies.”
Twenty-one Colorado photographers and photojournalists have come together to offer free family portraits to those that lost their homes, and treasured family photos, during Colorado’s wildfires.
The effort is led by Bryan Oller, a Colorado-Springs based photojournalist who spent time photographing the Waldo Canyon fire. Families simply need to contact the group to set up an appointment for a photo session. Or, if you’d like to help with a donation, contact Hope Photography Project.