Salem Rep Working to Raise Money for Bombing Victims

UPDATE (APRIL 23): Salem Rep. Joe Sweeney (R) has reached his goal needed for a fundraiser that will raise hundreds for the Boston Red Cross.

Sweeney needed to sell 100 "Stand with Boston shirts for all transactions to be approved and shirts to start shipping. He hit 101 on Monday night.

Salem residents – there is still time to participate in Sweeney's fundraiser. Visit this link to purchase a shirt, which costs $10. The fundraiser closes tonight with shirts scheduled to be shipped in early May.

The more shirts sold, the larger the percentage of your order will go to help the victims of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings.

An Earlier Story Follows

When tragedy strikes without warning, as it did when two bombs shook the Boston Marathon finish line Monday afternoon, stories of people doing good things always follow.

One Salem representative hopes that through the help of a simple T-shirt, he and his fellow fraternity brothers can spread some of their good to a city that needs all the good it can get.

Working from the University of New Hampshire main campus, 19-year-old Rep. Joe Sweeney (R) has created a custom shirt that reads "Stand with Boston."

The phrase has bounced across the social stratosphere in the days since three people were killed and over 170 were injured at Copley Square.

Through his fraternity, Phi Mu Delta, shirts are being offered for $10, with proceeds going directly to the Boston Red Cross.

But Sweeney and PMD are selling each T-shirt in a unique way.

Through the use of the website "Ink to the People," the shirt is actually part of a social campaign.

"All we need to do is sell a minimum of shirts in order for all the transactions to go through," he said.

That minimum is listed at 100, and as of Thursday night, 43 people have committed to purchase an orange and black shirt.

According to Sweeney, the site requires no start-up costs.

"The more shirts we sell, the percentage of the $10 going to the Red Cross increases exponentially," said Sweeney.

UNH stood tall and mighty with Boston on Tuesday, outside Thompson Hall.

Since the vigil, posters have cropped up on the UNH campus with QR codes providing links to purchase the PMD shirt.

Those who want to buy a shirt from the fraternity campaign have until April 23, at which point a check will be sent to the Red Cross. Those who purchase a shirt can expect them around May 3.

"(Monday) was a day we stood strong against terrorism, but we will always stand even stronger with Boston," said Sweeney.

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Visit here to purchase a "stand with Boston" shirt from Phi Mu Delta.

Phi Mu Delta also has a Facebook page, which can be found here. Sweeney, who is a political science major, was a founding father of the UNH chapter of the fraternity. The fraternity was founded nationally in 1918.