Tattoo Tsunami was the brainstorm of David Belle, the new St. Gregory's High School technology teacher. Beginning early in the new year, his graphic arts students were given only a few parameters for their fundraising project.
Designs were required to include a Red Cross (in recognition of the organization that led America’s first response team) and they had to incorporate the image of a greyhound, St. Gregory’s sports mascot. The t-shirts and tattoos would carry a variety of student designs and would be sold during lunch to students and faculty.
The fundraising goal was set at $550, a figure that would replace a fishing boat for a village where fishing is the major livelihood of its inhabitants. A t-shirt and set of four temporary tattoos were sold as a package for $10.
To motivate purchasing, administration agreed to allow students a day out of uniform and faculty a day of casual dress when the goal was attained. St. Gregory's is a small, diverse Catholic high school in a working class neighborhood. While the student discretionary funds are often short, their sprit of giving was not. The project took several weeks to reach the $550 goal but the students succeeded |
