Limited Edition T-Shirt for a Cause Brings Together Houston Celebs Alex Bregman, Paul Wall and Bun B to FEEDHOU

Project assisted by students from University of Houston Sales Excellence Institute as part of summer ServeHOU “internships” sponsored by 3M

Houstonians can get a piece of wearable art with a limited-edition Houston t-shirt created in collaboration with Houston Astro Alex Bregman, Houston rappers Paul Wall and Bun B, Houston Food Bank and students at University of Houston.

Early in the pandemic, Alex Bregman and fiancé Reagan Howard began supporting Houston Food Bank with their FEEDHOU initiative with the goal of raising $1 million to help feed the growing need for food assistance caused by COVID. 

The goal was reached and exceeded, and a new goal of $2 million was set.  To help Bregman round homeplate to that goal, students from Bauer College’s Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston engaged Houston Food Bank to create a sellable item as part of a summer internship program sponsored by 3M to help local nonprofits.

Many of the 150 undergraduate students within the Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston lost sales internships this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Sales Excellence Institute (SEI) corporate partner 3M provided a monetary grant that has given SEI the ability to scholarship 20 students as “interns” over the summer. Shortly after, Andy and Barbara Gessner, long-time donors of the Program for Excellence in Selling, provided additional funding that allowed SEI to scholarship an additional five students.

UH created the “serveHOU Initiative” with these funds, providing $3,000 scholarships to 25 Program for Excellence in Selling students over the summer as they partnered with five local Houston nonprofits in an effort to support their fundraising strategies. 

The students are “interning” with SEI, and program professors are supporting and engaging the students through a rigorous curriculum that includes an education in project management, leadership, nonprofit fundraising strategies, and digital sales. The students were split into teams of five, and tasked with analyzing the Houston nonprofit community and identifying the 5 best nonprofits to support.  Nonprofits selected were Houston Food Bank, Elijah Rising, Kids Meals, Inc., A 2nd Cup, and Hope Village.

Each team created an engagement strategy that focused on increasing financial support through fundraising or selling products/solutions for their nonprofit. The students are collaborating to implement these specific strategies, with the support of the institute staff and professors. Each team meets regularly with the nonprofit leadership to review the strategy and gain exposure within the nonprofit ecosystem. At the end of the summer, each team will prepare a presentation for 3M that will detail their experience, unique successes, and key takeaways.

A team of five students from Bauer College’s Program for Excellence in Selling at the University of Houston brought together Houston community leaders and Houston Food Bank supporters Bregman, Paul Wall and Bun B to collaborate on a limited-edition t-shirt for sale through the Houston Food Bank website and local retailers.  The artwork was created by Mike Frost, a well-known Houston photographer and graphic designer, and local sneaker and streetwear retailer Active Athlete provided funding for the production of the shirts.

The shirt is a District Perfect Blend Tee made from the softest 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester with shoulder-to-shoulder taping, 1×1 rib neck and tear-away label. 1X1 rib knit neck. It is available in black or white, and men’s and women’s cut.

Cost of the shirt is $25 plus shipping.  The shirt officially went on sale on July 13, 2020 (713 Day – the date corresponding with Houston’s main area code), and will be available until the limited supply runs out.   Head over to https://stores.inksoft.com/houston_food_bank/shop/home.