Buffalo City Mission & 26 Shirts debut limited-edition T to fund new emergency shelter at Alfiero Family Center

Design will be printed on clothing apparel available to general public from Aug. 25-Sept. 8

On Tuesday, the Buffalo City Mission and 26 Shirts announced a collaborative new design in the company’s special-edition T-shirt series. Named “Street Signs,” the limited-edition artwork will be sold and printed on select clothing apparel from Aug. 25 to Sept. 8. A portion of the proceeds will support the funding of an emergency shelter unit in the City Mission’s new community center, the Alfiero Family Center of Hope and Promise. Shirts can be purchased at https://26yw.co/street-signs.

“The Buffalo City Mission is honored to partner with 26 Shirts on this exciting initiative to rally our community,” said Aubrey Calhoun, associate executive director of the Buffalo City Mission. “This unique design is something to wear and show proudly as we work together to build a pathway to a new life for our region’s homeless. With the community’s help through this campaign, each shirt sold will help support the funding of our emergency shelter within the new community center – an important place of recovery and restoration for our neighbors in need. We encourage everyone to get involved during this exciting, limited-time challenge.”

The “Buffalo Ave.” artwork ties to the City Mission’s “Pathway to Hope” – a symbolic walkway in front of the new center. It is connected with the City Mission’s “pick-a-brick” campaign – a dynamic fundraising initiative that provides individuals and organizations with an opportunity to purchase personalized, engraved bricks that create a pathway of lasting legacy for the next century. Those interested in purchasing a brick can visit pickabrick.org.

“26 Shirts is a company rooted in supporting families and organizations that help those in need, and partnering with the Buffalo City Mission is a natural extension of that mission,” said Del Reid, founder of 26 Shirts. “The shirt’s inspiration stems from the meaningful inroads that the City Mission paves for every person that comes through their doors.”

Scheduled to open soon, the 75,000-square-foot center will provide preventative services on the front end to decrease the percentage of homelessness year-over-year for those who are on the brink of homelessness. It will also deliver more complete care to individuals who already experience homelessness. Notable features will include space for social service agencies, case management, mental health services, medical care, job training, basic family services, legal services, food and clothing. It will also feature 83 emergency shelter units – all of which staffers said are critically important for residents in their journey to recovery.

The building is part of the City Mission’s vision moving into the next century to provide services that help prevent and decrease homelessness in the community. To learn more about the campaign or how to donate, visit nextcenturycampaign.org.

The Buffalo City Mission, founded in 1917, is a nonprofit organization providing preventative, emergency and transitional housing programs to thousands of people who are homeless and impoverished every year. The Mission includes a women and children’s shelter (Cornerstone Manor), the men’s community center, and the Dick Road thrift store to serve the Western New York community. For more information, visit buffalocitymission.org, call 716-854-8181, follow on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloCityMission) or Twitter https://twitter.com/CityMission.

26 Shirts is the charitable brainchild of Reid and Dan Gigante. Started in November 2013, this philanthropic campaign acts as a means to raise funds and awareness for families and foundations in need through the sale of limited-edition, Buffalo-themed T-shirts. Local artists’ designs are printed on a two-week run of shirts with a portion of the shirts’ sales going directly to the families in need. For more information, visit www.26shirts.com.