No better time to give back than in hard times

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By Daryn Kagan 4:17 PM Saturday, June 25, 2011

“But where are you going to find your stories?”

This was the all-too-familiar doubt and criticism many expressed after I broke away from traditional news reporting and decided to launch a website dedicated to sharing inspiring news.

Yes, I was leaving the support system of CNN and going off on my own. But I decided that DarynKagan.com would be like the movie “Field of Dreams.” Remember the line, “Build it and they will come?” I honestly believed that if I created a space for these types of stories to exist, they would come to me.

The plan has worked out remarkably well. I’m constantly finding stories, and stories find me.

It happened again last week while I was on a lovely beach vacation. My beau, Mr. SummerFest, and I went out for a morning run. We passed an open-air market featuring arts, crafts and clothing.

We both spied this one booth at the same time. “Shirts That Give Back,” announced a banner hanging over the cutest designer T-shirts you’ve ever seen. Mr. SummerFest and I both slammed on the brakes of our running shoes.

That’s when I met Jennifer Manisco, a stay-at-home mom, who has seen her world completely change. She’s married to Ken, a homebuilder. Up until a few years ago, their life was pretty sweet.

“We were homebuilding during a pretty hot time,” Jennifer shared with me. “We were making a lot of money. Honestly, we were spending a lot of money, too. We didn’t think about it that much.”

Things changed pretty drastically for this All-American family as the economy came to a screeching halt.

“It was hard,” Jennifer recalled. “It also put a lot of things in perspective. We began to appreciate just having a roof over our heads and food on our table. Suddenly, a situation like homelessness didn’t seem that far away.”

That’s when the inspiration hit them. Rather than focus on what they didn’t have, they would focus on giving back. “You know those designer T-shirts you would buy without a thought?” Ken told his wife. “I know we could design and make those.”

With that UB4Me Apparel was born. Keep in mind neither one of them knew a thing about retail or designing. They rolled up their proverbial sleeves and decided to figure it out. Ken bought a silkscreen machine and learned how to use it watching “How To” videos on YouTube.

Their first T-shirt simply read, “Thankful.” Proceeds from it went directly to a nonprofit to help the homeless.

“We have to do something for breast cancer research,” Ken insisted, remembering three dear aunts who have battled the disease. The “Thankful Mom” T-shirt was created for that.

And what about Cystic Fibrosis? And children’s health care? The list and number of T-shirts keeps growing.

I bought a white tee featuring a black heart and the word, “Hope” written in English and Japanese. Proceeds from that sale will go to help tsunami victims.

The Maniscos sell their shirts in boutiques, online at http://shop.shirtsthatgive.com and at local art fares.

“The best part,” Jennifer explained, “is when we get to write the checks to charities we really care about.”

I questioned: “How do you explain that hard times is the perfect time to focus on giving back? After all, it would’ve been understandable to just focus on your own hard times.”

“We had a year of that,” Jennifer assured me. “Then it was time to see this differently.”

Talk about what a difference a year makes. Real estate is picking up a bit. Ken is back to some home building. But the Maniscos’ eye is on what they consider their prize — their new T-shirt company and the gift, as they see it, of giving back.

Daryn Kagan is the creator and host of DarynKagan.com, an online community that features a daily webcast of inspirational stories. She is the author of “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make a Difference.”

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