The Giveback
Every shirt gives a child a month of Second Step® — a research-based program that teaches empathy, self-control, and friendship skills in real classrooms.
One word on the front means one deed behind it. For every shirt sold, Virts funds $3.40 — ten percent of what you paid — into classroom kits for Committee for Children, the Seattle nonprofit that has published Second Step® since 1979.
Why this program, and why "a month"
Second Step® teaches exactly the words we print: empathy is Kindness, self-regulation is Temperance, working through peer conflict is Patience. It's a social-emotional learning program aligned with the CASEL framework and backed by decades of published efficacy studies — the modern, scientific vocabulary for an ancient list.
The math, kept deliberately small: a classroom kit costs $409–$593 and covers a full school year for roughly 25 children — about $1.40–$2.00 per child per month. Your $3.40 buys 1.5 to 2.5 months. We claim one. When a number appears on this page, it is the conservative end of what the receipts actually support.
How we keep ourselves honest
- Receipts, not counters. You will never see a live "1,203 virtues spread!" ticker on this site. Counterfeit-feeling numbers are worse than no numbers. What you will see, every quarter: shirts sold → dollars funded → kit invoices to named schools → a photo of the delivery.
- A paper trail you can spot-check. Every payout is a physical purchase order. PO → invoice → shipped kit → school delivery confirmation. Nothing here requires trusting our arithmetic.
- A floor, not a ceiling. Virts commits to funding at least $4,000 a year — minimum $1,000 every quarter — whether we sell one shirt or ten thousand. The giveback doesn't depend on a good quarter.
- Payment cadence. Each quarter's giveback is paid out within 30 days of the quarter closing, then published below.
What one quarter looks like
Small, on purpose, at first. Illustrative: 500 shirts sold in a quarter = $1,700 ≈ 4 classroom kits ≈ about 100 children with a full year of the program. We would rather show you four invoices than promise you a movement.
The Quarterly Receipts
Template — first real payout published after Q1 close.
| Quarter | Shirts sold | Giveback funded | Kits purchased (invoice #) | School(s) funded | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 20__ | — | — | — | — | [invoices + delivery photos] |
Every row links to the actual invoices. If a quarter's page is empty while sales happened, ask us about it — that's the point of publishing it.
Who we fund
Committee for Children — independent Seattle nonprofit, EIN 91-1188127, founded 1979. Second Step® reaches schools across the US; kits are bought through CFC's own education store at standard classroom pricing. We credit the program's authors plainly because the program deserves the credit; we just buy the kits.
Questions about the giveback? The receipts page is the answer. If it isn't there yet, email hello@virtstees.com and we'll send you the spreadsheet.