Tristiana Hinton, special to wtop.com
WASHINGTON — Alexandria, Va., native Terrence “TJ” Jennings won a bronze medal at the London Olympics last year. And while he’s busy training for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, he’s taking some time to give back to his community.
Jennings has teamed up with Twice As Warm, a D.C. organization that uses clothing sales to provide clothing to people in need. In this case, Jennings has designed a limited edition T-shirt, and for every one that sells, a clothing donation will be made to homeless residents at the Carpenter House in Alexandria, Va.
Twice As Warm founder Brian Lieberman reached out to Jennings, and they worked together to pick a charity and design the shirt. The royal blue shirt says “We Are USA” in red and white lettering. Below is a hashtag that says “road to 2016.”
Jennings hopes the shirt can expand sports around the world. “That’s my idea behind the whole ‘We Are USA’ concept,” he says. “Connecting the world through sports.”
Lieberman says he really loved the concept when Jennings explained it to him. “His goal was really to unite people through sports,” Lieberman says. “We were looking to create a limited-edition shirt (so) that people could show their support for athletes across the country and at the same time, they’re able to give new clothing to people in need in TJ’s hometown.”
Jennings agrees. “It’s just one of those things you wear around to show your pride in your country, as well as being able to help a local organization that is helping the homeless.”
The shirts are $24 and the proceeds will go to buying hats, gloves and scarves for people at the Carpenter House who are preparing for the winter months.
You can purchase a shirt through the Twice As Warm website, but they’re only on sale through Oct. 7.
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