Love Everyday: Clothing for a Cause
'Love Everyday' is a strictly non-profit branch of New Threat Apparel. All of the proceeds from our 'Love Everyday: Clothing for a Cause' shirts you purchase go towards helping us help others. It's not just about showing off clothes, it's about showing off an expression and a statement. 'Love Everyday' is a reminder - aim to love someone or something every day, try to find all the good people and good things in your everyday life and appreciate them. No matter who you are or where you are from, there are things you have in life that someone else doesn't have. Whether that be friends, family, or a warm place to sleep - Appreciate them all for EVERYTHING.Read more about our 'Clothing For a Cause' campaign in Our Story. None of this would be possible without your support. Thank you!
All the proceeds from our current edition of 'Love Everyday' shirts go towards directly helping people on the streets of Toronto. That one shirt you buy can help provide meals, clothes, and hope for people in need. You can also look forward to 'Love Everyday' shirts that support different charities that we will be working with in the future. These shirts are separate from the standard New Threat clothes available.
These are the people, lives, and stories that inspire and drive us.
February 29th, 2008
And another snowstorm. I saw a lot of new faces tonight, but unfortunately a lot of the same faces still out there as well. I ran into Rick, a guy that I've been getting food for for the past while. I know I say this a lot, but this guy is one of the happiest people I've met on the streets. It just seems to be a common thing with a lot of the people out there. It really puts things into perspective once you realize just how insignificant some of the problems you've been stressing about are. Here is this man who is literally sitting in a carboard box, with a bag next to him that contains all his belongings. He's greeting me and passerbys more happily than I could ever manage, and I'm on my way to home from what I thought was a tough day at work - in a big, warm studio with free coffee and hot chocolate. Rick also reminds me of the doorman from the emerald city in the Wizard of Oz, and that's awesome. When I first met him, that almost caught my attention more than the fact that he was sitting in a box on the corner. He at least has a warm place to stay tonight, with the great people at the 'Out of the Cold' program, thanks to the Homelessness Action Group.
While talking with Rick, someone nudged me and said "What's up, small fry". It was Chris, another friend on the street that I've been helping out for some time now. Chris was heading back to his usual spot so we walked and talked for a bit. We got some coffee and then he dropped a little random gift in my hands, a mini keychain flashlight. It was really humbling, and great seeing him proud to have a little something to offer me. We ran into Frank, an older guy I wrote about in an earlier entry here. Sad seeing him in the same situation, evidently deciding against getting out of the city to stay at his sister's place.
Later on down the street, I met up with Chris and Mike, another few guys I've helped out with food before. All really nice guys, about the same age as I am but in very different situations. So it's always bizarre hearing a lot of their stories. We met up with Kevin, whom they all work together with, panhandling in different areas and splitting up the money at the end of the night. All of us went for some food and warmed up for a while and talked.
One issue that came up in our big discussion was about jobs. It's interesting hearing how many different jobs some of the guys I meet have had in the past. A lot of them have skills that I doubt I'll ever have, and know more about things that I probably will never know. But in many cases for a lot of homeless people, the problem isn't getting the job - it's keeping the job. Keeping the job while you're showing up to work everyday wearing the same dirty clothes, filthy from spending the night sleeping outside. Or trying to work while half-asleep because there were fights breaking out all night in the shelter you tried to sleep in, or an endless amount of drugs being smoked or injected all around you. Or maybe you didn't sleep at all because your sleeping bag got stolen out in the park earlier that day.
I don't like writing much about all the personal details people I meet share with me, but it truthfully seems like the most common cause for a lot of their misfortune is bad timing and bad luck. Things like the deaths of friends or family, divorce, being laid off, lack of parenting, and other similar issues spiraling down to depression, drugs or just a total lack of care for themselves. We had a long talk about all these things. A typical stereotype of a homeless person; heavy drug user or alcoholic, without any ambition, drive or desire to contribute to society. While this may be true for many (I've come across plenty of examples myself), it is certainly not true for all homeless people. Those are the people I try to reach out to and give a voice to here.
I realize I often just ramble on a lot here, and these "little" updates are starting to become "big" cluttered updates as I get to know some of the people more. I'm no writer. I'm not a professional. And I'm definitely not a saint- but that's part of my point. You don't need to be to try to help someone. I'm just a guy who couldn't help but pass by the guy stuck out on the street without wondering "Maybe this is one of those guys that are really trying". So I decided to try and do something about it, and now here we are. Tomorrow, a disastrous event could land you in a similar situation as some of these people. If that incident doesn't occur, be grateful. "Love every day" and "Love everyday".
February 7th , 2008
Chris always has always got a really happy vibe going on. Makes me wonder why I stress so much about work and money. It's a weird coincidence that I mostly see him right after I get off work. Because there I am, face to face with another reminder of how all the luxuries and wealth of this day & age at our fingertips really can't buy happiness. After a good hour or so, my friend had learned more than enough to get started on the article. We went with Chris and made sure he found his friend who was letting him stay at their place for the night because of the bad snowstorm. Definitely wouldn't want this guy spending the night out in that.
February 6th, 2008
This weekend will supposedly bring some really bad snowstorms. So I checked around the area for the regular guys that I usually run into, as well as anyone else stuck out on the street that needed some help. As soon as I met this guy, I could tell he had a long story to tell. I got us some dinner and ate with him for a hour or so. He told me about his long history with heroine, which took over the majority of his life. After getting into a bad car accident and being confined to a wheelchair for a few years, his habit got worse and he ended up on the street. He showed me some terrible scars all down both his arms from the accident. Eventually he learned to walk again but he says he's still in a lot of constant pain.
Living on the streets in Vancouver and a number of other places, and being around drugs for years made avoiding his drug problem difficult. With the help of a rehabilitation centre, he claims he has been clean for 3 years. I've spent a lot of time with a lot of people on the streets, and I've heard countless stories and claims. I've gotten pretty good at judging whether all the stories I hear are true or not, and only the stories that I believe are entirely true are the ones I write about here. This man seemed so sincere and genuine about everything. Normally I just get meals and gifts for people on the street that I haven't known for some time, and try to avoid just giving money right away. I try to really get to know them well enough so that I know the money won't be supporting any bad drug habits. But I had only known this man for a hour and I already really felt for him and could see that everything he was telling me was so honest. He was just trying to save up for a train ticket to get to his sister's place way out of the city. I offered the money, but he refused. He said I had already helped out enough and done my part. He was happy enough with the meal, conversation and time I spent just chilling out with him.
January 19, 2008
Good times with a bunch of the nicest guys. It goes to show that you can meet some great people through something as simple as pizza. I instantly got a hug after the food and we discovered that three of us all shared the same name. One of the Mikes loved the stickers too, so I hooked him up with a bunch. He then stuck them all over himself and proceeded to remind everyone walking by to "love everyday". Fun people, fun times.
January 12, 2008
Our 'Clothing for a Cause' has finally been given a name - 'Love Everyday'. It sums up what these clothes are all about. It's not just about showing off clothes, it's about showing off an expression and a statement. 'Love Everyday' is a reminder - aim to love someone or something every day, try to find all the good people and good things in your everyday life and appreciate them. No matter who you are or where you are from, there are things you have in life that someone else doesn't have. Whether that be friends, family, or a warm place to sleep - Appreciate them all for EVERYTHING.
"Love Everyday"
January 7, 2008
Meet 'Fardoche', or 'Fard' for short. This guy is incredible. Apparently 'Fardoche' was the name of a character from an old french show that always helped kids and encouraged them to eat their vegetables or something. And it's the nickname this guy earned years ago because he has always helped out other people on the streets. It's also what is tattooed across his knuckles, a tattoo which he's gotten re-touched over and over again by friends all over Canada in his travels. I've seen him out on the street a few times before, and today when I ran into him he was busy reading a book someone had given him. After talking for a bit, we went inside where I had the pleasure of hearing his story over some dinner.
Fard has been homeless for 17 years. He normally travels the country, trying to work a bit in different places and then moving on to the next spot. So he definitely had a lot of stories to tell. He originally came to Toronto to see a friend, but when he got here he had found out that this friend had slashed their wrists earlier that month. Some pretty sad stuff.
Even after everything Fard has been through, he's still such a nice, cheery dude with a good outlook on life. The thing that struck me as most interesting about Fard is how generous he is. Half of the things people give him, he tries to find other people on the street to give it to that might need it more than he does. He even refuses to try selling any of it. Fard is also really, really smart. He said he was always so into school, and learning. He managed to take some cooking courses a while ago and did really well with it, so we talked about him trying to get a job at a restaurant - something which he now plans on trying to do. It'd be awesome seeing this guy get back on his feet. Time flew by and before I knew it, we had been talking for almost a hour and I had to head out. It was great meeting this guy, and inspiring to see how generous someone in his position could be. I'm already looking forward to our next talk.
January 2, 2008
Today was without a doubt one of the more colder days we've had this winter. I ran into a man outside near a mall who was asking for some change. After chatting for a bit, I could tell this guy had been outside in that cold for a long time. I took down a quick order of food from him, whatever he wanted to eat, and went and got him his meal. The place I got food from was out of coffee, so when I got back with his meal we decided to venture into the mall for some warmth and coffee.
December 24, 2007
So it's christmas eve. I got off work a bit early, and on my way home I ran into my happy friend that I've helped out with meals a few times before. We can't really understand a word of what we say to each other, so the only way we communicate is through high-fives. I got him some more food and coffee in exchange for more high-fives and then I was on my way. 
I saw Chris up ahead at his usual corner. So I picked up some more food and coffee and
dropped them off to him. We exchanged even more crazy stories. He mentioned how he
normally slept nearby in a little sleeping bag, and that all he hoped for this Christmas
was that it wouldn't rain or snow because a frozen sleeping bag is no fun at all. He said
that the security at the mall near by kick him out when he tries to warm up in there most
of the time. A while later, I carried on to catch the subway in the mall.
It was unbelievably cold and windy. The entire walk I was thinking of how rough it would
be to be in Chris' place. Not only was it Christmas eve, but it was damn cold. I couldn't
imagine. As soon as I got in the mall, I ended up buying a huge duvet blanket along with
a big thick zip-up bag to carry it around in. I went right back out and walked all the
way back to see Chris. As soon as I got back there, I noticed some Xmas signs he had put
up.
"People spend millions on Christmas while homeless people don't even have a house or tree for presents"
I gave him the duvet & bag and hung out with him for a bit longer. That dinner and the blanket are all this guy is getting for Christmas. He let me take pictures of his signs, and then I went back on my way. It felt good for a bit, but on the way back reality hit me as I passed by an elderly homeless lady that clearly needed some help. I had nothing left with me to give except a bit of my time to chat briefly. Definitely a painful reminder of how much more work there is that could be done.
December 21, 2007
These are our friends Chris and Rob. I met them on my way home from work. I got Chris a coffee and something to eat. We all chilled for a long while and shared crazy stories. Rob has a dog that's bigger than I am. Chris has a little glow-thing attached to his jacket that constantly flashes and you can see him from miles away. Look out for Rob riding around downtown all crazy on his bike. If you ever see them around, say whats up. They're some really funny, good spirited guys.
After getting home, I realized that I totally forgot to buy myself something to eat : )
Home |
Apparel |
Love Everyday |
Media |
FAQs |
Contact |
Links |
Privacy Policy
Copyright © New Threat Apparel 2007 - Site design by Joshua Measures