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Giving Back

April 2, 2009  

Signatures Inc. and OOBE partnered to distribute embroidered shirts, like the ones shown above, to public school educators and support staff members in three South Carolina counties.

While most teachers are accustomed to apples as classic gifts, educators in three South Carolina counties recently were surprised to receive their own embroidered work shirts.

Mauldin, S.C.-based Signatures Inc., a custom embroidery and apparel provider, partnered with apparel manufacturer OOBE, Greenville, S.C., to embroider and distribute more than 15,000 shirts to public school teachers and employees in Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties. Signatures embroidered all the district and school logos on the shirts, which were provided by OOBE.

"We believe that educators, for the most part, don't receive the recognition they so clearly deserve, and this effort on our part is simply a small gesture to remind them they haven't been forgotten," says Jeanette Peterson, owner of Signatures.

Signatures and OOBE also coordinated the process of obtaining proper sizes and color choices for the employees. For this effort, Greenville County Schools' director of communications Oby G. Lyles was especially thankful. "Not only was the gesture by these two companies remarkably generous, but we also appreciated being asked to play a role in the logistical aspect of the endeavor," Lyles says.

OOBE and Signatures not only targeted their efforts toward the teachers at the 300-plus schools, but also the support staff. "Everyone in our school system supports students and the learning process, whether teaching, driving a bus, cooking nutritious meals, maintaining our buildings or working in an office," Lyles says. — S.M.

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Members Team Up To Help School Districts

Issue: 2009 February

Late last year, Mauldin, South Carolina-based distributor Signatures, Inc. (UPIC: Signa065) donated the embroidering of district and school logos on 15,000 shirts, which were provided by Greenville, South Carolina-based supplier OOBE, Inc. (UPIC: oobe) for all public school teachers and support staff in Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties.

“When OOBE originally came to us with this idea, I knew right away it was something I wanted our company to be a part of,” says Jeanette Peterson, owner of Signatures. “I sensed it was going to be a challenging endeavor, based solely on the volume of shirts and the fact that we’d be dealing with so many schools, but it was an opportunity to give a little something back to the community, and one that I didn’t want to pass up.”

Signatures and OOBE coordinated with school districts throughout the three counties to make sure the process of getting order forms properly filled out with sizes and color choices went smoothly.

“There’s simply no way we’d be able to do this in the time frame that we originally established, if it weren’t for the help and tremendous contribution from Jeanette and her staff,” says Tom Merritt, principal and co-founder of OOBE.

“We were very pleased that Signatures and OOBE understood the importance to have all members of the district family recognized,” says Oby G. Lyles, director of communications for Greenville County Schools. “Everyone in our school system supports students and the learning process, whether teaching, driving a bus, cooking nutritious meals, maintaining our buildings or working in an office.”