When it comes to raising money for all kinds of charities, you can count on students at the College to get on board.
Seven students were recently chosen to be campus representatives for Serengetee, a clothing company founded in 2012 that donates proceeds to 32 nonprofit organizations from all over the world. The representatives promote the company by sharing posts and pictures of garments from Serengetee’s social media pages, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Local artisans from all over the world donate their fabrics to Serengetee. Fashion designers from the company create pocket T-shirts, incorporating the fabrics into the shirts. Each shirt with the specific fabric represents a charitable cause.
For example, a local artisan from Indonesia donated the Gili fabric. Proceeds that are made from selling T-shirts that incorporate the Gili fabric are sent to the Bebali foundation, which helps weavers who live in underdeveloped villages turn their crafts into desperately needed income. Poland’s fabric, Krakow, represents Polish Gift of Life, which is an organization that raises funds to help support children with heart defects.
“I’ve personally bought multiple fabric from Soles 4 Souls,” mass communications and public relations major Ashley Reed said. “This is a company that provides shoes to people in need.”
Reed is excited to be a campus representative for Serengetee.
“It was founded independently by students, actually, which is why I think Serengetee is awesome,” Reed said. “It was founded right out of their dorm rooms.”
Jeff Steitz, founder and CEO of Serengetee and graduate of Claremont McKenna College, decided to start Serengetee while studying abroad. He and his partner Ryan Westberg of the University of Arizona toured 15 markets around the globe and brought home authentic fabrics.
They spread the word out to different college campuses across the company, including the College, and encouraged students to join the company so they could help promote it.
“My roommate was a representative last semester, and another Kappa Delta was a representative,” sophomore biology major Natalia Zak said. “I just saw it last-minute and applied. And I got it, which was awesome.”
Zak added that the Serengetee is encouraging campus representatives to promote the company in a larger scale.
“I might do something with Kappa Delta and see if I can get a bunch of Kappa Deltas involved,” she said. “All of us (representatives) are trying to do a bigger project together to make it well-known on campus.”
From Serengetee’s progress, one can assume that the College’s representatives will have no trouble getting its fellow peers on board to promote the company. It has already made $4,000 from this month alone and over $52,000 in total donations. Over 173,000 people support the company through social media.
“That’s why I like this company,” Zak said. “A lot of the times, companies don’t tell you where the proceeds are going. But with Serengetee, it shows you exactly where it’s going, exactly how much they’re making and how much they’re giving out.”
Reed is proud to be one of those supporters who is giving to those in need.
“Knowing that by buying these products I can support young entrepreneurs, local communities and charities is a really great feeling,” she said. “Everyone I’ve worked with at Serengetee is incredibly devoted and enthusiastic, which also contributes to the positive work environment.”
