We've all been saddened by the story of Cecil the Lion this week, and we know a lot of you feel the same way. It's an especially hard thing to explain to kids who may have heard the news too, since children always have such an an innate fondness for animals. But one thing you can do is to help them feel more empowered, by finding ways to support endangered animals.
We've talked about many charities in the past that support wildlife around the world. And so many of them sell some really cool tees that support some great animal related causes.
Take a look at what we've tracked down for you. Maybe there's a very perfect one for your kids, that allow them to wear their love for their favorite creatures on their sleeves. Or chests.
Of course big cats aren't the only big creatures that need extra attention from us these days. We featured this David Sheldrick elephant kids t-shirt from J Crew last year, and we're thrilled to see that it's still available, and for the same price as last spring. Plus, they continue to donate 100% of the net proceeds from the tee back to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an outstanding Kenyan rescue charity for orphaned elephants. Liz's children have "fostered" some of their baby elephants for years, thanks to some very giving grandparents, and she vouches that this is definitely a charity doing great things.
For our younger kids, we're loving the t-shirts from SpeeZees which help support a whole bunch of animals, from elephants and tigers to lemurs and zebras. $1 from each shirt purchased goes toward an organization that is dedicated to helping the species pictured, like the Asian Elephant Foundation or Panthera. Maybe you can get your kids involved to pick out a shirt that represents a favorite animal, then save some extra allowance to send to the organization too.
Finally, we couldn't leave out the World Wildlife Fund. While they have a great selection of endangered animals tees featuring tigers, elephants, and of course, their iconic pandas, it's the sloth that caught my eye. Because, sloths are cool. I remember WWF and their good work from my own childhood; here's hoping they're still at it when our kids have kids too.
Related: 7 amazing organizations to help you give back as a family all year long.
With big cats in the news right now, of course we had to look for a few ways to support them. This roaring lion t-shirt helps support National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative, and we know plenty of boys and girls who will love the message and the cool design. Another great organization we found that's new to us is Lion ALERT, which stands for African Lion and Environmental Research Trust. Their goal is to maintain lion populations while balancing the needs of African ecosystems. We love this Lion ALERT Africa Needs Lions kids' tee with a colorful arrangement of paw prints in the shape of the African continent. The t-shirts from Ivory Ella (also at very top) only come in women's sizes, but the size S is on our older girls' lists for back to school this year. We love their simple, pretty designs, and we're not the only ones; since their launch in April, Ivory Ella has received so many orders that every shirt is backordered! Not a bad problem to have, considering 10% of net profits -- more than $100,000 so far -- is being donated Save the Elephants. Preorder now and your shirt will ship in four weeks.
Of course big cats aren't the only big creatures that need extra attention from us these days. We featured this David Sheldrick elephant kids t-shirt from J Crew last year, and we're thrilled to see that it's still available, and for the same price as last spring. Plus, they continue to donate 100% of the net proceeds from the tee back to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, an outstanding Kenyan rescue charity for orphaned elephants. Liz's children have "fostered" some of their baby elephants for years, thanks to some very giving grandparents, and she vouches that this is definitely a charity doing great things.
For our younger kids, we're loving the t-shirts from SpeeZees which help support a whole bunch of animals, from elephants and tigers to lemurs and zebras. $1 from each shirt purchased goes toward an organization that is dedicated to helping the species pictured, like the Asian Elephant Foundation or Panthera. Maybe you can get your kids involved to pick out a shirt that represents a favorite animal, then save some extra allowance to send to the organization too.
Finally, we couldn't leave out the World Wildlife Fund. While they have a great selection of endangered animals tees featuring tigers, elephants, and of course, their iconic pandas, it's the sloth that caught my eye. Because, sloths are cool. I remember WWF and their good work from my own childhood; here's hoping they're still at it when our kids have kids too.
