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When Style Becomes an Act of Love

There once was an old woman named Helen Coley. One day her house of 27 years burned down. A couple of compassionate artists decided to form a grassroots design project to make her story into a clever and unique t-shirt. Now her house is getting rebuilt. The organization that made this possible, Rosa Loves, is not only a design company, it is a movement to connect people with people, to establish financial support for specific individuals and to give a real face to a real need.

According to their website, Rosa Loves believes that "everyone has a story. Everyone has a need. By using art and creativity, we hope to foster hope and encouragement through the aid of apparel. Each story will be told through stimulating graphics and actual text that will appear on the inverse of the shirt directly in line with the heart, where the Rosa Loves movement stems from."

The shirt stories range from individual trauma like Helen Coley's loss in a fire to group needs like college funds for poor high school students in Mexico. The shirts come in a variety of styles and sizes and can be found at www.rosaloves.com. One of the company's graphic designer's, Mike Fretto, states on their website, "Fashion has always been a tool of self expression and identity. Though fashion trends are fleeting, people's desire to express something with what they wear will always remain. My hope for Rosa Loves is that its t-shirts can be used not only to express themselves but also serve as a medium to encourage people to carry the weight of the story of someone that they normally would not encounter".

The organization hopes to promote and inspire more grassroots "love projects" on a global scale.