I’ve spent a lot of time and energy with this blog complaining about how our compliance office wants nothing more than for me to go away and how I’m not exactly a huge fan of theirs either. For the most part this was just a charade, as the rules compliance were enforcing really weren’t their rules at all but were instead those of the NCAA. And the truth is I knew that most of the stuff I was doing was going to be frowned upon, but I did it anyway just to be an antagonist (shocking, I know). Still, I enjoyed complaining about how compliance was out to get me (they weren’t) and how I had so many great ideas that I could execute if compliance wasn’t so strict (I didn’t). As any high school girl who starts “drama” will tell you (more like all girls, amirite fellas?), it’s sort of fun to complain from time to time. But if I’m going to falsely complain about compliance when it’s really the NCAA’s fault, I think it’s only fair to give compliance credit when they come through for me. And, man, did they ever come through for me.
Since the latter part of the summer, I’ve been bugging our compliance office about a way to let me get t-shirts to the Trillion Man March. You guys were (and still are) flooding my inbox with t-shirt requests and my only solution was to send you to the Cafepress site that had been set up by another member of the TMM. I wasn’t a huge fan of this because it seemed like a sketchy way to get you shirts, but it was really the only solution I had so I sent people there. I even ordered a few shirts from the Cafepress site for myself and while the quality isn’t terrible, they aren’t exactly the nicest t-shirts I own. I wasn’t satisfied with the Cafepress route, so I decided to investigate a better way to get Club Trillion shirts on the backs of those of you who wanted them so badly. Thanks to the efforts of the compliance office, a better way has been discovered. The good news is that I now have a way to get you high quality shirts from a reliable source. The bad news is that the shirts are so awesome they might blow your mind.
The deal that was made that puts Club Trillion shirts in your possession is really a perfect situation as far as I’m concerned. Since the NCAA hates it when student-athletes make money (but loves it when they make money off the student-athletes), I obviously cannot profit from this venture. However, I can have the money donated to a charity which is exactly what’s going to happen. Most of you probably think that the “charity” that the money is going to is the “Mark Titus Chipotle Fund” and while you certainly can donate money there if you so choose, I’ve actually decided to give the money to a more legitimate charity. I chose to give the money to A Kid Again, which is a local charity that benefits children with life threatening illnesses. Two years ago the basketball team helped out with a clinic-type thing that was put on for kids from A Kid Again and I immediately fell in love with the charity. The people are full of energy and the smiles that they put on the faces of the kids is truly something special to see. Upon finding out that I would have to give money from the t-shirts to a charity, I immediately knew I would choose A Kid Again because spending five minutes with the kids exposed me to more bravery than I had been exposed to throughout the rest of my life combined. I can confidently assure you that the money couldn’t go to a more enthusiastic charity than A Kid Again.
As you might have noticed, there is now a link in the upper right hand corner of this website that will take you to A Kid Again’s website, which is where you can get your t-shirt (for those who don’t feel like scrolling up, you can just click here). I got a local clothing manufacturer (whose business I’d love to plug but can’t because of the NCAA) to jump on board and take care of processing all the orders. After his cost of making the shirts has been reimbursed, 100% of the remaining money goes towards A Kid Again’s efforts. I’m not exactly a clothing expert, but in my humble opinion the shirts couldn’t be a higher quality and are really kind of a steal considering you get free shipping too. Plus, your money is going to a great cause. If you have even a slight interest in helping kids out and/or getting a Club Trillion t-shirt, I beg you to make a donation and get a shirt. I’ve put a good deal of work (along with a lot of other people) into getting this set up and really think that it could turn out to be a pretty cool fundraising opportunity for A Kid Again. And let’s not forget that you’ll be getting an undeniably awesome t-shirt in the deal. It’s really too bad that there isn’t a time of year quickly approaching in which people get presents for the ones they love, cause these shirts would make for a perfect gift…
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If you want to read more about A Kid Again, you can do so by visiting their website and reading their mission statement.
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I’m not really counting this as a blog entry because it’s only real purpose was to introduce the shirts. Therefore, I neglected to include a certain link that many of you look forward to so much (see what I did there?). I’m also not throwing a YouTube or Streak for the Cash shout-outs at the end of this because I’m in New York City right now and would rather spend my time getting flipped off by Yankee fans with road rage than sifting through e-mails containing YouTube links. Sorry to disappoint the five of you who love how I end each blog entry. I’ll write a recap of NYC when I get back to Columbus and normalcy will be restored.
Your Friend and My Favorite,
Mark Titus
Club Trillion Founder