This Friday the 13th, pop rock band Marry A Thief is holding a CD Release Show at New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC and Project Nicaragua will be making an appearance!

Come out to a great show and purchase your shirt (ps we’ve restocked, so all sizes will be available!) The show starts at 9 and only $!0 gets you in and a copy of the new MAT album “Reaction Explosion”.

And for all you guys not in the area, please pop over to iTunes or http://www.myspace.com/marryathief and support MAT as they endorse Project Nicaragua! The new single “Only” has been on repeat for us!

Patrick

Photos from my last trip to Nicaragua! Enjoy!

We’re going MAD y’all (a little southern slang for you Northerners)! No, I’m not talking about the angry mad or the crazy mad. What am I talking about then? Well I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Project Nicaragua, in particular, about being able to provide meals to people whom eating for the day is a luxury. I take having three hearty meals a day for granted. Oh how easy it is for me to forget how truly blessed I am.

In efforts to prepare our mind and hearts for the trip to Nicaragua this December and to remind ourselves of how blessed we are to enjoy three meals a day, Patrick and I have decided to join in solidarity with the millions of men, women, and children around the world who go without a meal each day. As you know by now, every shirt you buy provides 40 meals for a family of four who are affected by extreme poverty. From my trip last year to Nicaragua and discussions with my friend at Chosen Children Ministries, the families usually take the 40 meal food packets provided and ration out a meal a day. Starting November 4, we will be eating only a Meal-A-Day (“MAD”) for the forty days leading up to the trip—we call it, “40 Days of MADness.”

We want you to join the “40 Days of MADness!” As with any extreme dietary changes, please check with your doctor prior to starting to make sure you can partake. Also, this could be a great fundraising tool! Get your friends, family, and co-workers to sponsor your 40 days with a certain amount of money each day. A simple donation of 50 cents a day would provide over 80 meals!

Are you joining the MADness? Email us for a “40 Days of MADness” sponsorship packet.

When I was kid, my parents always new just how to break bad news, with a nice dollop of good news on top. Your getting a bigger room… because we’re moving. Your getting a new dog… because your old one has to go on a long trip. Manipulative, a little, but it worked like a charm! Though I did wonder for the longest just when Jack was coming back from that long trip.

Well, Mark and I have some good news. We have a full stock of mens and womens/youth Fight For Enough shirts available! And may we say, these are some great shirts! A few have asked just what fight for enough means; here’s the concept, if everyone had the mindset of making sure that everyone else had at least enough, this world would be a better place. We aren’t talking trickle effect or spread-the-bread, just the concept that if people care for one another, everyone will be cared for. It’s pretty simple really. So, pop over to the store and order your FFE shirt and then the next fashion forward event you attend, you will have a great talking point for that philanthropic guy/girl you’ve had your eye on! And you’ll provide a family with forty meals, win-win-quadrupledecuple win.

Because we’re almost out of Project Nicaragua shirts (see how I threw that in there, I get it from my momma). If you’ve been online to purchase lately, you may have noticed the size options are pretty limited, and, well, that because we are down to the last few shirts! This is a great problem to have for a number of reasons. First, it means we have provided over 4,300 MEALS! Second, it means people all over the country have joined in this humble mission and are sparing a nice meal out so a family can have some regular meals in. This has been quite the humbling experience for Mark and I, and it makes us all the more eager to launch One Thread and provide fashionable clothing with a missions centered focus.

Like we said in the beginning, we’re just two guys. We’ve needed and still very much need all your wonderful support. And don’t worry, the Project Nicaragua shirts will be available in the coming future, but right now we really want to make this initial drop a special one, so every penny is gonna go straight into packets and not restocking. But hey, if any of you guys are sitting on a goose egg and wanna help us make an omelet, email us!

SO go buy, go give, go tell a friend! But most importantly, go love someone else, it makes the world go round. Thanks for joining the fight for enough.

Patrick

» A Call For Heroes

I came across the post by one of my favorite musicians, Jon Foreman, the other day. He hits on the heart of why Mark and I are doing what what we are. I really suggest taking a moment and giving this a read. Dios le bendiga!

Patrick

Patrick and I originally envisioned creating Project Nicaragua on a one-for-one model. Every shirt you purchased would provide a shirt to someone in need. We still want to provide clothing to those in need, however, we have challenged ourselves to think about the specific and vital needs of those we want to help in Nicaragua, as well as future projects in other parts of the world.

After talking with my good friend Wallace, at Chosen Children Ministries, and others who are currently in Nicaragua, it is evident that the greatest need is nourishment. The facts are, almost 80% of Nicaraguans receive only one meal a day. This inspires us to change this statistic by doing what we can. So, we decided to give the one-for-one model a twist, we call it “want for need.” You want, they need, we bridge the gap.

A great opportunity has presented itself to do just this! Wallace talked with his staff down in Nicaragua and just as it turns out, 9USD will provide a packet of food able to feed a family of four 40 meals! How awesome is that? Every shirt you buy will cover our cost to make the shirt and purchase a food packet!

So what is in this food packet? Every packet contains:

· Beans

· Rice

· Oil

· Drink

· Sugar

· Salt

· 2 cans of sardines

· Pasta

Here’s a picture of a sample packet of what we will be delivering.

Thanks for joining us in the fight for enough!

Mark

It's official! Here's the story...

Project Nicaragua is here! Hence why you’re reading this ;) As Mark and I build for the launch of One Thread Outfitters next year, we are excited at the opportunity of allowing others to get involved in what we are trying to do. It’s simple really. People need clothes. We want to give them some.

During grad school, Mark started designing custom shirts and had a dream of being able to deliver clothes to people in need. If you’ve spent any time around me, you know that I am a dreamer, hell bent on changing the world, one person at a time. So Mark and I being best friends, he the worker visionary and, I, the contagious dreamer, led to the idea of One Thread.

We want do our part in the fight for enough for everyone. And we feel clothing is a viable way we can make a small difference in the life of another. That’s where you come in! We want to introduce the vision and spread the word, so what better way then by getting started! Cue Project NIcaragua!

ProjNic is an initiative happening this december. Mark and i, along with a small team will be traveling to Nicaragua and visiting a handful of villages and orphanages to love on the people and bring them quality clothing. We will also be establishing relationships to continue Project Nicaragua, and other international projects, to be the foundation of One Thread Outfitters impending launch.

SO, for every shirt that you buy, you will provide and article of clothing for a man, woman, or child in poverty. That sounds like a win-win to us. Join us in our fight for enough. There are big things coming and ProjNic is only the beginning! So pop over to the the store and buy shirt or two! Tell a friend and if you have a great idea that could help us raise money, send it our way! All proceeds for Project Nicaragua 2009 are going solely to provide clothing for the ProjNIc 2009 Drop. All donations are tax deductible and are highly appreciated. What are you waiting for?

Patrick

According to the most recent statistics, the wealthiest 20% of the world account for 76.6% of total private consumption, the poorest fifth just 1.5%. That is a staggering statistic that increases year after year. We live in a world where 80% of the population (roughly 5.4 billion people) live on less than $10 a day. The United Nation’s basic standards of living is partially defined as every persons access to enough food, water, shelter, clothing, health, education, etc.

It is an impossible task for one person, or even organization, to meet all these needs. But if every person labored dutifully, in whatever part they saw fit, our world could be drastically changed. As Mother Teresa mused, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

In the face of such interminable global ills, Mark and I have begun our quest to join in the work of repairing our world. In light of our travels to some of the poorest pockets of the globe, from the Haitian landfill villages of the Dominican Republic to poverty stricken areas of Nicaragua, we have searched our resources for the way in which we can best serve the needs we have encountered.

A common thread in our journeys has been the need for adequate clothing among men, women, and children. For years, Mark and I have dabbled in custom apparel and design. Last year, Mark was able to take one hundred shirts to Nicaragua, a noble aspiration far short of the need. After much thought, we have decided to use those resources to help address one of the many needs across this planet.

This December, we will be traveling with a small team to orphanages and villages in poverty stricken Nicaragua (the third poorest country in the Americas according to UNICEF) to deliver custom clothing for men, women, and children. We will encounter approximately 3,000 people on this trip, and our hope is to deliver at least one article of clothing to every person.

This is a tremendous undertaking, but we are driven by intolerance of poverty and the desire to, in our way, better the lives of people less fortunate then ourselves. Our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to action. So we are writing to extend an invitation to you to join our cause.

This mission will cost nearly $18,000. We firmly believe, with your help, this goal can be reached. Your solidarity in sacrifice and service is crucial to our success, and would be greatly appreciated, not just by us, but by the men, women, and children we will be able to provide with one of the most basic of needs.

Will you join us in making a difference?