The History of The Shirt Charity Fund
The Green Shirt: The First Shirt
The Shirt Project began in 1990 through the vision and leadership of Brennan Harvath ’91. As Chairman of the Student Union Board's AnTostal spring celebration, Harvath envisioned raising money to supplement the AnTostal budget by selling a t-shirt to Notre Dame students. “The Shirt,” as it became known, was intended to unify the student section in the football stadium for the home opener against Michigan on September 15, 1990. With Notre Dame and Michigan having similar team colors, Harvath’s vision was for the crowd to be unified in green, symbolic of the Fighting Irish. More than 9,000 Shirts were sold, and over 85% of the student body wore The Shirt to the game. More than $17,000 was raised to create new AnTostal events, and a portion of the funds was also allocated to each residence hall.
Due to the popularity of The Shirt 1990, the program continued the following year with the Student Union Board AnTostal Chairman once again coordinating the project. As the success and notoriety of The Shirt continued to grow, revenue exceeded the needs of the Student Union Board. The Shirt Project became its own student organization, and student leaders decided to distribute the profits to other student organizations.
In 1993, profits were dedicated to offset the medical expenses of a student who was paralyzed, and additional funds that year were used to establish memorial scholarships in the names of Meghan Beeler and Colleen Hipp, members of the Notre Dame varsity swimming team who were killed in a bus accident in 1992.
To this day, money raised through sales of The Shirt continues to be allocated to Notre Dame residence halls and student organizations, as well as to create memorial scholarships in the names of Notre Dame students. Fifty percent of proceeds are contributed to The Shirt Charity Fund, which supports Notre Dame students who suffer catastrophic illnesses and accidents. The Rector Fund, which makes funding available for students to take part in unique Notre Dame experiences (service learning trips, football tickets, club activities, residence hall events, and other quality of life activities), also receives a portion of the revenue.
The Shirt 2006 was the most successful to date, with over 155,000 sold and well over $650,000 in net profits.
The Blue Shirt: The T-Shirt for the Cause
The success of the Student Union Board’s green shirt campaign for the 1990 Michigan game was recognized by Sister Jean Lenz, who at the time was serving as Assistant Vice President in the Office of Student Affairs. Sister Jean was providing support for Zhengde Wang, a Chinese doctoral student with plans to enroll in the Notre Dame Law School, who was seriously injured when he was hit by a car in November 1989. As Wang’s medical expenses increased, Lenz approached Joe Cassidy, Director of Student Activities, with the idea of creating another shirt with the proceeds intended to help Wang and his family, who moved to South Bend to stay with him during his recovery. With the October 20, 1990 game against Miami drawing near, Cassidy and Lenz presented the idea to the Hall Presidents Council, and the student leaders agreed to support the fundraiser by selling the shirts on campus.
Media attention was generated through the support of the Athletic Department, and all 17,000 navy blue shirts printed for the game were sold out before kickoff. A second version of the shirt was printed after the game bearing the 29-20 score, and an additional 15,300 of these were sold. The 32,300 total shirts sold resulted in a $100,000 check being
presented to Wang and his family to cover their expenses.
The charitable aspect of the “T-Shirt for the Cause” campaign continues to this day, as half of the funds raised from sales of The Shirt are allocated to The Shirt Charity Fund, which supports Notre Dame students who suffer catastrophic illnesses and accidents.
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