Naperville Strong T-shirts resonating with community

When Downtown Naperville merchant Joellen Elam ordered "Naperville Strong" T-shirts for her London Skye shop on Water Street, she thought they'd be big sellers for people looking to acknowledge surviving the pandemic and reopening as a community.

"It turned out many people just wanted to forget the whole event," she says.

Then came the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, local demonstrations and the Monday night damage and looting of several downtown Naperville businesses.

Tuesday, as the cleanup of downtown was underway, the demand for the shirts, with the hashtag 'We're all in this together' was way up. "Lots of people called or came in that day," Elam says. "It's like people really felt in all of this together, and wanted to show community unity."

Elam has now ordered a second order of the shirts and expects to sell out of those too.

"I'm thrilled for the store since we've been through so much trying to keep operating during the shutdown. But it's even better to see the community feel pride as we try to navigate all these challenges," Elam said. "This is a historic time. I'm happy to try to help."

One T-shirt will be donated to Naper Settlement for their collection commemorating these events.

A portion of the proceeds of the shirts will go to Naperville YMCA Safe 'n Sound program, which has been providing child care for essential staff at Edward Hospital.

Joellen Elam's shop London Skye is selling the blue T-shirts, which also say "#InThisTogetherNaperville," on its website at mylondonskye.myshopify.com/ for $38.