A new t-shirt will soon be spotted around town in support of the Senatobia Police Department. The t-shirts are the result of efforts by Dr. Brant Kairit to organize a fundraiser for the local men and women in uniform who give so much by serving and protecting the citizens of Senatobia.
“For a few years I have been wanting to do something that would allow the citizens of our community to show our officers that we appreciate the daily sacrifices they make to keep us safe,” said Kairit. “They put their lives on the line daily in order to protect us and our loved ones. With the recent controversies in our country, I felt like this was a good time to do something to show our appreciation to our local police department.”
The t-shirts are possible because local businesses purchased sponsorships. Kairit organized an effort through email and social media to allow the first 12 businesses to respond by a given time the opportunity to be included in the fundraiser. The total funds from the sponsoring business were used to pay for the making of the shirts and having them printed at locally owned and ran Teezers in Senatobia.
The shirts are gray and on the front feature a design with the words “Backing Our Blue Senatobia, MS” in white letters encircling a depiction of the thin blue line flag with a blue circle around the outside of the art. The back of the shirts will feature logos from the businesses that purchased sponsorships: Senatobia Dental Care, Celebrations, Red Computing Solutions, Five Star Equipment, Tate Record, Land Bank, Storey Insurance, Penny’s Pantry, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Buchanan HVAC, State Farm Insurance and Tate Nutrition.
Kairit’s goal was not only to provide a monetary gift to the police department, but to also provide a “moral-support boost” for the officers to have a visual of how the citizens of Senatobia are champions for the department.
“The t-shirt fundraiser allows citizens to show their support of our men and women in blue and it also raises some money for our police department so they can continue their outreach to make our community a better place to live.” explained Kairit.
With a goal of making $6,000 to donate to the SPD, the shirts will sell for $20 each. The shirts may be purchased directly from Teezers located at 111 S Front St, Senatobia, MS 38668. Jeff Jones, owner of Teezers, stated t-shirt sizes could be called in ahead of time to insure he had the shirts ready for pick up. Jones can be reached at 662-560-5099.
Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler conveyed his gratitude about the undertaking of the fundraiser.
“On behalf of the department, I would like to thank not only Dr. Kairit, but the businesses and residents of Senatobia for their continuous efforts of showing support for police officers. The idea of members of our town wearing shirts in public to show their support is deeply meaningful to the officers at the department. We appreciate that the citizens recognize and value our ongoing efforts to protect and serve the people of Senatobia,” said Chandler.
Kairit encourages all residents to show their support of the local police department.
“Please purchase a t-shirt and wear it often,” said Kairit. “Wouldn’t it be great for our officers to see how many people truly support them? Let’s show our law enforcement that Tate County is ‘Backing Our Blue’”.
