Basic Tee Gets Fundraiser Off and Running - From "Success Stories"
By Jen Zorger
July 2009

I don’t really run," says John Siracusa Jr., senior account rep at Proforma MOSA Enterprises (branch of asi/300094). But that didn’t stop him from signing up for a National Guard-sponsored 5K run/walk to benefit families of soldiers in the 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry, who are fighting in Iraq. "My cousin is in Iraq," he says. "This is his brigade … I was invited by his wife to join this through Facebook, so I responded right away and said, ‘Absolutely.’"

Visiting the event Web site, Siracusa learned that the organizers needed shirts for the run. He contacted them and offered to help any way he could. The group was planning to give tees to participants who paid a $25 donation to enter, then to sell any remaining garments. "Cost was really important to them," he says, "because they wanted to make as much money as they possibly could so it could go to the troops."

His rep at Bodek & Rhodes (asi/40788) helped him find a T-shirt on special. To reduce costs further, Siracusa advised his client to go with a white shirt instead of the black one they had envisioned, then negotiated a special price with imprinter Visual Impressions Inc. of Milwaukee. In addition, he slashed his own margin on the order.

The day of the run, it turned out to be 96 degrees – unexpected for April in NJ – and the shirts went over especially well. "People said that the shirt was perfect, because it was a hot day and it was a white shirt," Siracusa says.

Biz Tip: Re-energize yourself with charity work

"This is probably the cheapest project I’ve ever worked on," says John Siracusa of Proforma MOSA Enterprises, "but it’s the one that made me feel the best." For him, the charitable project had these benefits:

• Made him feel positive during a time when the news holds a lot of negativity
• Re-energized him so that he felt better about his everyday work
• Introduced him to contacts who are likely to turn to him for promotional needs