YORBA LINDA – A "typographical error" resulted in the recall of student T-shirts at Linda Vista Elementary School's recent jog-a-thon, after a parent called the phone number printed on the back of the shirts and was connected to an adult chat line.
T-shirts were handed out to all students participating in the Oct. 16 jog-a-thon during recess and recalled before students left at the end of the day, Principal Jackie Howland said. The school believes that all of the T-shirts were retrieved, but parents were called just in case, Howland said.
The T-shirts featured the school mascot – a lion – running with a 1-800 number featuring words instead of numbers.
The number was written as a cute slogan for the jog-a-thon, but turned out to be an actual number, said Rosemary Gladden, public information officer for Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.
Linda Vista PTA is not the first group to make a mistake with that exact spoof number. The two word 800 number shows up online as part of a popular running slogan sold on T-shirts and merchandise.
But a Google search for the 1-800 number on its own returns news articles and blogs about schools in Ohio and Iowa that made the same mistake.
The 1-800 number goes to an adult chat phone line.
The shirts were printed by the PTA, which spent over 500 hours volunteering for the event, Howland said.
Multiple attempts to speak with PTA members went unanswered.
Despite the embarrassing mistake, Howland said the jog-a-thon was success, raising $25,000 for student activities.
"It was an innocent mistake," Gladden said. "Parents have been very understanding."
T-shirts were handed out to all students participating in the Oct. 16 jog-a-thon during recess and recalled before students left at the end of the day, Principal Jackie Howland said. The school believes that all of the T-shirts were retrieved, but parents were called just in case, Howland said.
The T-shirts featured the school mascot – a lion – running with a 1-800 number featuring words instead of numbers.
The number was written as a cute slogan for the jog-a-thon, but turned out to be an actual number, said Rosemary Gladden, public information officer for Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.
Linda Vista PTA is not the first group to make a mistake with that exact spoof number. The two word 800 number shows up online as part of a popular running slogan sold on T-shirts and merchandise.
But a Google search for the 1-800 number on its own returns news articles and blogs about schools in Ohio and Iowa that made the same mistake.
The 1-800 number goes to an adult chat phone line.
The shirts were printed by the PTA, which spent over 500 hours volunteering for the event, Howland said.
Multiple attempts to speak with PTA members went unanswered.
Despite the embarrassing mistake, Howland said the jog-a-thon was success, raising $25,000 for student activities.
"It was an innocent mistake," Gladden said. "Parents have been very understanding."
