The international Christian humanitarian aid group works with Major League Baseball, the NFL, and the NBA to collect misprinted merchandise and distribute it to people living in impoverished nations. (MLB used to require the destruction of shirts and hats proclaiming the wrong champions, but two years ago they began donating their postseason apparel).
The merchandise doesn’t go to waste, people living in poverty receive new, clean clothes, and the clothing makers recoup some of their losses—they get tax credits for the charitable donations. Why don’t the clothes go to needy families in the United States? Overseas donation is part of the agreement between World Vision and the leagues. The farther away the clothing is, the less likely it is to offend a losing player (or heartbroken Buffalo Bills fan).
I had the good fortune of working for a stretch in Tanzania a couple of years ago. I’d highly recommend a visit to anyone. Zanzibar is paradise.
Anyway. It was common to see native residents sporting American tee shirts from humanitarian programs. This sometimes had a jarring effect.
My personal favorite of these moments occurred when I drove with some companions to a remote village, a couple of hours outside of our relatively modest “city.” The village had no plumbing, electricity or the like. We then hiked another two hours on a dirt path away from the village, up a mountain side, where we encountered a little bar/rest stop.
The woman proprietor who greeted us was incredibly nice and had a glowing smile. Her tee shirt?
Ithaca is Gorges.
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