E2 Embroidery and Screen Printing, located at 1451 N. Topping Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri, has raised around $381,000 for fallen KCFD firefighter Graham Hoffman's family.
Now, the local company has to fulfill close to 30,000 orders, but not without some help.
That help includes friends, family and firefighters. One of E2's employees, Brianna Hertzog, said strangers are even coming in off the street to help.
"There’s people that have nothing to do with the fire department, and they just heard the story, and heard what we’re doing, and it just affected them," Hertzog said.
For E2, the printing is the easy part. They've printed and shipped large orders like this, but for this job, they're packing and shipping individual orders.
Hertzog said E2 was just looking to support Hoffman's family. They didn't realize the amount of support they'd receive.
"It’s crazy to see the amount of people who are willing to take time out of their day, and some people are here for eight hours, and some people come for an hour at a time," Hertzog said.
Some volunteers, like Kristen Gibbs, are helping because she's a firefighter.
"It hit really close to home," Gibbs said. "When you buy that shirt, you’re letting people know you’re there for them, they’re not alone."
Another volunteer, Rachel Fondaw, said she loves to see how the community has come out to not only support the family but the small business, too.
"Helping the small business that isn’t a small business anymore, and just the amount of orders that have come in is just amazing," Fondaw said.
Hertzog said they'll continue to work as long as possible, on top of their regular production, to make sure everyone who ordered a shirt gets one.
E2 is no longer accepting online orders for Graham Hoffman t-shirts. If you'd like to purchase one, visit the shop in person where you can pay with cash or Venmo.
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KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
