We wanted everyone to be able to afford one so we could show school and American pride,” she adds. We have 525 students and we sold 600 of a combination of T-shirts and sweatshirts,” says McVeigh. “We doubled our sales from previous years. PTO President Lori McVeigh says her school decided to change its spiritwear this year to a patriotic theme. Gardens Elementary School PTO in Marysville, Mich., did it to instill pride and foster a sense of community. Many parent groups sell spiritwear to raise money. For example, if the school’s mascot is a tiger, then “Tigers” is spelled out in letters shaped like jungle cats. To add to the fun factor, the mascot name is spelled out in animated characters.

You want it to be fun and exciting.” Her company offers mascot T-shirts personalized with a school’s name and colors. “You want the kids to love it,” says Lauralee Raddatz, vice president of sales and marketing. But whatever apparel you go with, it’s best to choose a design that appeals to children of all ages in the school. And because price quotes are generally based on a minimum quantity purchased, if you don’t sell the minimum, the price goes up.ĭespite the wide variety of spiritwear items available, T-shirts and sweatshirts are by far the most popular. Why? The more choices you give, the more likely it is you’ll sell fewer of each item. Instead, says Schultz, limit your selection to a couple of items. “A lot of schools try to do too much,” says Wally Schultz, president of. But that’s not necessarily the best way to go. Once you begin to see the wide range of spiritwear options, you might be tempted to order several items for students and parents to choose from. The process, from selecting a vendor to choosing colors and sizes, can be confusing, but professionals and parents in the know have plenty of advice to help you size up whether this fundraising/community-building option is a good fit for your school. Whether it’s your school’s first foray into spiritwear or just time to do things a bit differently, you’ll find that the items available to show your school pride are many and varied, from T-shirts and sweatshirts to boxers and bandannas-and almost anything in between. Get some T-shirts printed with the school mascot on them and you’re done, right? When the call came for someone to head up the PTO’s spiritwear effort, it sounded simple enough.

Keep it simple shirt