Abstract work with concrete goals
Text by ZOË WONG-VANHAREN Art by EDWARD ZHANG
CX APPAREL’S PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS CHARITY
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BLACK BOX LOGO is print- nonprofit food bank, providing meals to ed on a crisp white T-shirt with families in need. bold Chinese characters that “Especially in a time like the coronaviwrite out “抽象” (chōu xiàng) rus, where a lot of families are either out of — the Mandarin word for abstract. This is jobs or parents are working and they can’t a shirt — and a concept — that went from access grocery stores, we think that supa simple lunchtime idea to a physical prod- porting a charity that addresses this issue is uct in under two weeks. really important to The brand idea sur- Especially in a time like us,” Lin said. faced on the day schools the coronavirus ... we Although they in Santa Clara County have just begun, all were announced to close think that supporting a three teens say that due to the COVID-19 charity that addresses they have learned pandemic. That day at quite a bit from this issue is really imlunch, juniors Edward their endeavor. Lin, Zhang and Joyce Lin de- portant to us.” who is in charge of — JOYCE LIN, junior finances, cided that, in response realized to the current state of that keeping track affairs, they wanted to give back to their of business transactions was not as easy as community. she expected. Zhang, participates in Youth Commu“I actually asked my mom to help me nity Service-Interact, was drawn to the idea download a free trial of QuickBooks, which of combining his artistic talent with com- is an accounting software, and it was a realmunity service. Inspired by Lin’s trendy ly good learning experience to learn how to style, he suggested that they create a cloth- use accounting software that is used in a lot ing label. of professional businesses,” Lin said. “I’ve always wanted to somehow sign Huang noted that T-shirts, be able to sell them – and take the biggest surprise for that money and donate to charity,” Zhang him came from trying said. to advertise the product. CX Apparel has pledged their prof“I feel like what I’ve its to the Ecumenical Hunger Program in learned is that it really East Palo Alto, which was running low on helps to have connecfunds and in danger of closing. EHP is a tions,” Huang said. “For
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promoting our Instagram, having people put it [the clothes] on their story — you’d think that like people wouldn’t click on it, but ... it actually really does bring a lot of people to our page.” Even after the crisis of the pandemic subsides, the three intend to continue the business. “I think we’re still going to continue donating because I feel like each dollar still has such an impact in that community,” Zhang said. Although Lin, Zhang and Huang have not been able to meet in person, they have found it relatively easy to run the business remotely. The rising seniors are optimistic that even after graduating from high school, the business can continue. On April 18, CX Apparel donated $100 to the Ecumenical Hunger Program, making their first contribution to the community. Their most recent galaxy-themed merchandise collection was released the next day, on April 19. As more orders for the galaxy apparel come in, they hope to continue their donations to organizations in need, and intend to support the East Palo Alto Kids Foundation in addition to the Ecumenical Hunger Program. “I feel like you can never give too much back, you know?” Zhang said. v
