‘Live United’ T-shirts travel far and wide

Published 10:28 pm Sunday, December 28, 2008

EVERETT — The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, or in this case, a T-shirt.

England, Israel, Germany, Egypt, France, Belize, Mexico — these are just some of the countries where a simple white T-shirt with black lettering has visited with a simple message: “LIVE UNITED.”

The Snohomish County United Way minted the traveling T-shirt contest in an effort to promote its own efforts here at home and to encourage volunteerism within the community and beyond.

Deborah Squires is the vice president of communications for the Snohomish County United Way. She’s surprised how much this contest — and the spirit behind it — has caught on.

“The traveling T-shirt contest was something we cooked up all by ourselves and it took off,” Squires said. “To get into the contest, all they had to do was answer a few questions then go out and see how far they could get.”

Jessie Wachter won the contest with a photo from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Bylakuppe, India, more than 8,100 miles from Everett.

Second place is Judette Hemachandra in Saqqara, Egypt, at 6,810 miles from Everett. Third place was Bob Strom in Haifa, Israel, at 6,679 miles from Everett.

The winner was given four club-seat tickets and two parking passes to an Everett Silvertips hockey game.

Wachter requested the tickets go to Hemachandra. She was in Phuket, Thailand.

Squires is unsure if the traveling T-shirt contest will continue next year, but she is thrilled with the response she has gotten this year.

“ ’Living United’ is a mindset, it’s about social engagement. This is a lighthearted way to do it, but the message is still just as powerful,” Squires said. “Its funny how a T-shirt can make people think about how they are engaged, but it does.”

Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.