VERGE Tee Shirts Benefit Shine Helpline

Leading fashion label VERGE ran a hugely successful campaign, selling a specially designed fashion tee shirt, which raised $60,000 for Shine’s Helpline as well as raising the profile of this vital service and bringing attention to the country’s disturbing domestic abuse problem.

Pictured from left to right are: Jane Drumm (Shine Executive Director), Louise Binns (Shine Chair Person), Ian Webster (Verge Design Director), Neil Brabant (Verge Director)

The design on the tee shirt conveyed the inspirational message of "fresh growth and the hope of new beginnings”. VERGE and its retailers sold 3000 tee shirts and donated 100% of the profits to the Helpline. The tee shirts were available from October to December 2011. During this time there was also a 20 percent increase of calls to the Shine Helpline.

Ian Webster, VERGE Design Director, says his company wanted to use the Verge fashion brand not only to raise money but,

"more importantly, to increase the awareness of Shine, to assist these women, many of whom are our customers, as well as our mothers, teachers, neighbours, daughters and close friends.

“When we discovered just how prevalent domestic abuse is in New Zealand, we were blown away. A common assumption is that domestic abuse is a private matter. However, this is simply not the case. It is a critical national problem, impacting on children, their families and destroying New Zealand communities.

“Our discussions with Shine really brought home how vital it is for businesses to step-up and make a difference. It is not enough to be purely about sales. We need to be dedicated to helping create a happy, healthy, functional society – one that can develop and prosper."

Following the success of the campaign, Ian encourages other New Zealand businesses to step up and work to reduce what he perceives to be one of the country's most critical problems.

On behalf of Shine, Executive Director Jane Drumm expressed her gratitude to Verge for the $60,000 donation,

"These funds will not only help us provide much needed support to the 27,000 plus women that call us every year but will also help educate the public about what we do and how close to home domestic abuse really is. The fact that a third of all women are affected means that most people will know someone struggling with abues – even if they aren’t aware of it. We also want to reach the 40% of abused women that have reported not being able to find any help or support when they needed it most.”

As a doctor and member of Parliament, Jackie Blue doesn't fit the expected stereotype of a victim of domestic abuse. But her story, which was profiled in New Idea in October, is a reminder that domestic violence can blight any home, and cuts across cultural and socio-economic lines. Jackie shared her story to help draw attention to the Verge campaign to raise money for Shine's Helpline service for victims of domestic abuse. Shine commends Jackie for her courage in coming forward. Her story of survival, which has also featured in the NZ Herald, will give hope to other victims of domestic abuse. We thank Jackie for her long-standing support of Shine.

Our thanks also to Kerre Woodham who wore the Verge tee shirt on the Good Morning show (towards the end of the clip) and commented on the good work that Shine does.

> Go to Shine in the News to see more coverage of Verge's tee shirt campaign which appeared in various media outlets including FashioNZ, Gloss, Scoop, 247 girl, Infonews, and Next Magazine.