November 30, 2003
The Source - Local woman makes free shirts for troops
By ANN ZANIEWSKI - Staff Writer
She's not a famous singer or comedian, but Christine Delvecchio has been lifting the spirits of troops overseas for the last two years. Delvecchio, owner of All American Screen Printing & Embroidery, makes patriotic T-shirts for men and women serving in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
She has just finished another batch of care packages, and she's offering them for free to anyone who wants to send one to a friend or family member in the military. Each package includes a T-shirt, a bookmark with an inspirational prayer, a letter from Delvecchio and a note of thanks written by an area child.
People who bring a current military photo to the All American Screen Printing and Embroidery store in Sterling Heights or Chesterfield Township can pick up a package.Beginning Nov. 30, the packages will be available for one week, or until the supply of 1,000 runs out. "I was lucky to be born here, and it's important for me to say thank you. A lot of people feel thankful," Delvecchio said. "It's important for me that they know that people here appreciate them."
Delvecchio started making shirts for the military in fall of 2001. Her business was booming, but she found herself searching for more out of life. She wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. "Financially, I was prospering, but I didn't feel satisfied," she said. "I thought 'I'm a T-shirt lady. What can I do to make a difference?'" When terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, she came up with an answer. Delvecchio immediately printed several thousand "I love New York" T-shirts and sold them locally, raising about $120,000 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. She then made 300 patriotic red, white and blue T-Shirts and delivered them to Selfridge Air National Guard Base that November, where they were distributed to service men and women.
Delvecchio has since made and sent nearly 20,000 shirts to American troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bosnia and other countries around the world. With the shirts, she includes sweet, hand-written letters penned by children from local school groups that have toured her shops. Lt. Col. Mike Greiger of the 127th wing of the Michigan Air Guard said the shirts really help boost troops' morale. "She wanted to make sure that we were appreciated, even though we weren't with our family or community," he said.
Greiger met Delvecchio at Selfridge in 2001. He took several shirts to Kuwait in July and distributed them to troops who had just boarded a plane that was making its way back to the U.S. "You're living in tents and trailers surrounded by 10-foot walls of sand," he said. "The troops really appreciated them. It put a smile on their faces." Delvecchio is looking for names and addresses of units stationed overseas, as well as school groups who want to tour her store and contribute letters.
Care packages can be picked up at both All American Screen Printing and Embroidery locations. The Sterling Heights store is at 42496 Mound, and the Chesterfield Township store at 46534 Gratiot. Care packages can be picked up beginning Nov. 30.
