Philanthropic business to leave its prints on the world

A philanthropy-based print company run by current and graduated UCF students and Full Sail students is aiming to help clients with products, while also helping the world.

ThreadHeart, which has had ties with UCF Greek life since the company's birth in February, launched the Greek Clean Water Movement, which will start up this fall.

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ThreadHeart was founded and started by Daniel Shaun Michael Parish, James Dorminey, Ryan Miller and John Grant.

According to Dorminey, a senior legal studies major, for every t-shirt bought by Greeks this fall and spring, a portion of the proceeds will go to bringing clean water to developing nations through a partnership with charitywater.org.

Parish said they feel it is unacceptable that one in eight human beings don't have access to clean water.

"Anybody who hears that statistic wants to know what they can do to make a difference," Parish said. "We felt it was a great cause to rally Greek life behind."

According to water.org, a child dies from a water-related disease every 20 seconds.

Diarrhea, which is more prevalent in the developing world due to a lack of sanitary water, leads to roughly 20 percent of child deaths globally. It is responsible for more deaths annually than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

Dorminey said ThreadHeart is also reaching out to other universities in Florida to join in the movement.

"We already have a commitment from the Interfraternity Council at Florida State University, as well, and are trying to bring our movement to University of Florida next," he said.

Ryan Schell, president of Phi Delta Theta at Florida State University believes the Greek Clean Water Movement is a cause that can prosper in Florida universities.

"The Greek Clean Water Movement is an avenue for our Greek communities to spread our scope of philanthropic influence outside of the United States," Schell said. "By simply making the decision to use a company concerned with philanthropy, we as Greek communities, and universities as a whole, can bring clean water to people across the globe."

ThreadHeart offers graphic design, web design, web development, app design and development, and t-shirt printing, embroidery and custom jerseys.

"We try and tie philanthropy into anything we can; we believe the future of business depends on entrepreneurs who aren't afraid to build businesses that have a positive impact on society," Dorminey said.

Parish, an organizational communication grad, met Dorminey at UCF's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation prior to the business opening.

According to Dorminey, ThreadHeart was built from the ground up and started without an investor or loan. For that reason, Dorminey said that there were hardships when starting the business.

"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed, but there is also a lot of pressure from friends and family who don't expect you to succeed. Trying to turn all of the energy surrounding the project into positive energy is important," he said.

Dorminey said six people currently work at ThreadHeart. And although no one in the staff is over the age of 24, Dorminey said there isn't one thing they feel they can't learn or accomplish.

Director of Operations John Grant came on board at the start of the company in February. Grant said when he found out about ThreadHeart, he immediately saw its potential and felt compelled to be a part of it in any way he could. Grant, a sophomore finance major, reviews the orders that come in, orders supplies, sets up the orders and prints the shirts.

"I love how every day I have a new task to tackle. I know that my work is helping the company out and helping us to better our business for our clients," Grant said.

In addition to the Greek Clean Water Movement, ThreadHeart has other plans in the works including a mobile app that is being designed to help mom-and-pop restaurants, as well as a design firm that will launch this fall.

"We plan to launch a design company this fall dedicated to helping small businesses brand their business the same way large corporate companies do," Parish said.

Dorminey said the company has grown since February, and if the ThreadHeart team continues to work hard and sticks together, the sky is the limit.

"There are a lot of 20 hour days where you ask yourself, ‘Am I crazy?,' but this is our dream. Every morning I walk into the office, I'm excited and thankful to be doing what I love," Dorminey said.