Promoting Positive Change at TryChange.org

Try Change: I’m originally from New Jersey but I currently reside in Northern Virginia. I am the director of sales for a hotel in Springfield as well as the president of the local chamber of commerce. One of my main interests besides Try Change is going to the gym as often as I can, usually four to five days a week.

rogercarr: Briefly describe TryChange.

Try Change: At Try Change we seek to inspire ourselves and others to seek positive change that will not only benefit ourselves but society as a whole. Through the sale of inspirational t-shirts we hope to spread our message of hope, peace, faith, diversity and positive change. We share new inspirational stories on our website and blog just about everyday.

rogercarr: What gave you the idea for starting the company?

Try Change: I was inspired to start Try Change after a trip to our local supermarket where I encountered a young lady wearing an obscene t-shirt. It was a Sunday afternoon and there were many families with children also at the store. The very next week I was in the mall and I saw a young boy that couldn’t have been older than 7 or 8 wearing a shirt promoting the use of marijuana. I thought to myself that I had to do something about this. That there had to be something more positive out there for all of us.

rogercarr: What makes TryChange different from other t-shirt companies?

Try Change: At Try Change we do not consider ourselves a t-shirt company. Rather, we are messengers of positive change. The t-shirts are one of the vehicles that we use to spread our mission as well as help our community. We have sponsored the local Springfield Bridge Walk, we are members of the local chamber of commerce, we are involved with Volunteers of America and are participating in the adopt a highway program.

rogercarr: I understand you donate a percentage of all profits to Volunteers of America Chesapeake. What percentage is donated? Why did you select this charitable organization?

Try Change: Since we are not purchasing our shirts wholesale at this time but rather per order our profit margin is limited so our current donation is 5% of all profits. Our goal is to sell our shirts directly to the consumer through local shops which will increase our profits and in turn will increase the amount we donate to Volunteers of America Chesapeake. We have also recently set up a link on our blog with Network for Good that allows people to donate directly to Volunteers of America. We selected Volunteers of America because it is one of the oldest and most respected charities in the US. They also run the local shelter which we are planning a garage sale with that 100% of the proceeds will go to Volunteers of America Chesapeake.

rogercarr: Is there anything else you would like others to know about you or TryChange?

Try Change: I would like others to know that Try Change is made up of me and my fiancé and we are very much a grass roots organization. The success of Try Change hinges on the support that we receive from our local community as well as individuals such as yourself and our online community. In the short time that we have been in existence we have been featured on the front page of the Springfield Times, appeared in the Potomac News Pulse and were the Legal Zoom Spotlight LLC. We are constantly seeking out new inspirational stories and community members. In closing, I would like to invite everyone to join our community. We currently have 25 members and our goal is to reach 200 community members by 2008. Finally, you can support us and Volunteers of America by simply investing in one of our many inspirational t-shirts.