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Jan 18, 2008
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Attend school, get pair of shoes

When Christian Dorsey and Jason Johnson attended school in Detroit, the district encouraged students to show up on Count Day by having a pizza party.

The duo, who own a sneaker store in Midtown, decided to kick it up a notch.

Every high school student who shows up on Count Day, when the attendance is used to determine the school system's state funding for the year, will receive a free pair of Nikes from Bob's Classic Kicks.

That's every student in grades 9 through 12 in Detroit Public Schools.

Which means we're talking about 14,000 to 17,000 pairs of sneakers. For free.

"We wanted to give back to the community, so why not do what we do best — which is shoes," said Dorsey, 30.

The store is trying to offset the cost by soliciting donations from local businesses. It began contacting possible sponsors several weeks ago but didn't want to say how much has been raised so far.

The businesses would be invited to join the store when it distributes the sneakers, said Dorsey. The store will close for a weekend and turn the giveaway into a festival-like event.

"They say it takes a village, so we hope the village will chip in," said Dorsey.

In 2008, the store hosted a party for high school seniors who couldn't afford to attend their proms. The event included food donated by local businesses.

The store, which opened eight years ago, isn't sure which type of Nikes it will be giving away.

But they won't be cheap, said Dorsey. They will be black and low-cut with a retail price ranging from $80 to $125.

Students who attend Count Day on Oct. 3 will receive a voucher from their school that they can then exchange at the store.

Midtown resident Glen Schmidt, 33, said he wishes he still was in school.

If the Jackson high school he attended had offered free sneakers on Count Day, he might have showed up once in a while, joked Schmidt.

"That sounds pretty good," he said. "Air Jordans?"

No, the store won't be offering Nike's top-selling brand, but it will be giving out lots of others.

And it wants to make the giveaway an annual event.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120814/SCHOOLS/208140349#ixzz26D8Ec2Wz
 

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Allez Les Bleus 🌟🌟
Feb 27, 2006
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www.fubuoverstock.com
fubu are you able to support yourself (pay rent and all your bills) as a freelance artist? or do you have other side hustles? also, where do you sell your art? is it just random people or art shows or what? just curious. if so that's dope, I respect people who can make money of their own hustle like that
i live at home with my parents, but yeah, i'm able to support myself as a freelance artist. and i've been charging people joog, i haven't even charged people as a professional artist yet, lol. but yeah, once in a while my mom or dad will shoot me like $50 or something but i never ask for money. luckily i've met a lot of people who kept my name lit without me having a business card and what not. plus, i saved money from my previous job over at gnc, and i don't really spend money aside from weed, gas, and food.

i got my own website, but i never updated it since i started it...but other than that, the only places people can see my artwork is through my facebook/flickr account. soon, i'll be updating my website more often as soon as i add more portfolio pieces and what not.

mainly, my clients are just random people who want a painting, drawing, logo, or tattoo design done. i had my first art show/exhibit at a barber shop in richmond back in september/october last year for two paintings that i did for the owner of the barber shop. he really liked the two paintings i did for him, so i've gotten a lot of business just by word of mouth, thanks to him. as of right now, i'm planning on having either a solo art show/exhibit or with other artists at a local gallery somewhere in the bay area/sacramento area. i've come in contact with a couple of galleries so far but unfortunately i haven't gotten any word from any of them.

in the mean time, i plan on adding more pieces for my portfolio, and even for my show/exhibit, as well as applying for apprenticeships for tattooing. my homegirl is going to introduce me to a stripper out in sf who is also a freelance illustrator/fine artist/tattoo artist, so if she is a good artist, i would hope to start an apprenticeship soon.

as far as side hustles go, i used to sell weed and sometimes pills from time to time...but i haven't done that in like 3 years. right now, i'm just focusing on becoming a better artist, because i feel that even though people think that i'm good despite only 3-4 years of formal training, i can become a lot better. also, just compiling pieces for my portfolio or website, and getting my name out there...