J!NX.com

Support the Boys & Girls Clubs!

Our goal is to sell 1000 of these shirts to raise some cash to support the San Diego Boys & Girls Clubs (over 13,000 kids)

Every penny we receive will be donated!

$15

Please Note: If you'd prefer to just donate cash instead of buying a shirt, you have that option as well! Enter "J!NX" in the comments field.

The Story
Some of you may remember the "Young Overlord For a Day" event we did a while back, where we had a young artist named Clay come in and learn how the J!NX Fortress operates. We saw such a great reaction from Clay that we immediately started looking for a way to spread our message to more kids, a message that being truly passionate about what you love will make you happy, perhaps even become your career.

For those who don't know, the B&G Club is a non-profit organization with branches where kids can go to hang out, learn, play games and sports, build confidence, and stay out of harm's way. We have a local branch just a mile away from the J!NX Fortress, so we reached out and the symbiosis began. The ultimate plan involved working with the kids to create a shirt that we could then sell to raise money for the San Diego B&G Clubs. We broke it up into the following three sessions.

Session Uno
The J!NX art team headed out to the local B&G Club branch armed with ideas and an energy level only to be matched by an amazing group of kids. A brigade of 14 children arrived, ready to create, and the pencils hit the paper. We had everyone draw a basic stick figure doing something that they are passionate about. Giant, Borador and Moustachio (J!NX artists) gave them drawing tips, showed them the magic of a Wacom tablet, and talked about how they got into art. We left that day with a stack of awesome drawings and a mess of kids that were stoked to learn more.

Crafting a Winning Shirt
When we landed back at the office, the art team got to drawing. Our goal was twofold: (1) to create a design that incorporated art from everyone, (2) to create a product that would sell to the people that frequent our site. Honestly, it was a challenge. The design had to be relatively tame (by J!NX standards anyway) in terms of swords, combat, demons, etc. Yet, it had to be cool enough to sell and raise cash. We are very pleased with the end result.

Session Two
This week, we assaulted our screen printer's castle, SouthSwell Industries, owned by our friends Paul and Keith. The kids got to see exactly how a shirt is printed including the color separations, making the screens, the actual printing press, and the relabeling. I was reminded of the Discovery channel shows where you learn how things such as baseball bats or widgets, are made. By the end of the session, they were pretty charged up (the caffeine and sugar we gave them helped), and they all left with their own printed shirt. We also added a small section on the back of the shirt with all of their signatures.

Session C
The coup de grace. We took them inside the hallowed halls of the J!NX Fortress. We wanted them to see how we make things happen in terms of our business, but honestly, our primary goal was showing them how having passion for what you do can bring happiness and a sense of pride. The moment of truth came and officially launched the shirt on the site! We even let them pack a few orders (omg child labor!!).

This Part is to Make You Cry
I wanted to share something that Heather [B&G Club fundraising director] passed on to me at the end of the 1st session:

"It just takes one caring adult to make a difference in the life of a child. As I sit here in my new t-shirt (that still smells like fresh paint) with a picture of my new best friend iCan [the shirt's robot], I realize that over the last two weeks, I watched that phrase come to life. Something that started as a casual conversation 10 months ago has turned into the opportunity of a lifetime for 14 kids. Although you will never know the true depth of the impact you have had on those kids, here’s one small tidbit. Today, Sara [site supervisor] said to me after last week’s session four kids came back to school and said 'I want to go to college now'. Your generosity and kindness have truly changed these kids lives. Thank you!"

We urged them to be proud of their interests, no matter what they are. It's tough to be a teenager. We hoped to show them how passionate we are about art, computers and gaming, because we feel that being passionate is contagious. We expressed to them that knowing "what you want to do as a job" is not as important as simply finding something you love.

If your company is interested in working with the B&G Clubs, please let us know. We want this to just be the beginning. Oh, and buy a shirt!

-Jinx