Partnerships

Keener Jerseys

Since 2021, the Orange Shirt Society (Society) has partnered with Keener Jerseys (Keener) to help coordinate the delivery of OJP jerseys to youth across the country. After the Orange Jersey auction in October 2021, Keener wanted to partner with the Society to assist in their journey to achieve reconciliation. Keener is/has:

  • A non-Indigenous owned and operated jersey distributor which follows equitable employment practices, including having members of staff who are Indigenous.
  • Passionate about reconciliation and does not profit from the sale of orange jerseys. Sponsorship for OJP includes the cost to produce the jersey and labour costs.
  • An agreement with the Society that includes clauses mandating they do not profit. In 2022, an audit will be conducted to ensure the agreement has been followed.
  • Volunteers devoting their time for any hours beyond the 40-hour work week. This includes packing jerseys and taking calls after hours to help ensure successful delivery to all teams who participate.

To ensure the partnership grows on both sides, the Society will be providing training and educational opportunities to Keener’s staff in 2022. We look forward to creating awareness of the individual, family, and community intergenerational impacts of residential schools through these activities with Keener.

If you know of an Indigenous owned and operated company that creates jerseys, Keener would love to hear from you. Keener does not make jerseys – they are a distributor who would welcome the opportunity to work alongside Indigenous companies going forward.

Relish Branding

In 2021, Keener Jersey’s recommended that we work with Relish Branding (Relish) on website and Learning Management System development for the Orange Jersey Project. Relish is a Certified B Corporation (B Corp), which is designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. To achieve certification, a company must: 

  • Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing our risk review. 
  • Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
  • Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.  

A 20% reduction in fees for services provided was applied, as a non-profit discount for Orange Shirt Society. Relish recognizes the importance of territorial acknowledgment for the Treaty 1 territory.  Relish wants to help because we believe in acknowledging the past to build a better future for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.  Only truth can help us build stronger communities together.

Orange Jersey Project Logo

The Orange Jersey Project Logo was created, in part, by Shayne Hommy whose design was the Official Orange Shirt Day Design for 2021. At the time Shayne won, Shayne was a Grade 11 First Nation Cree student at South Peace Secondary School, in Dawson Creek.  Her design means justice and awareness for Indigenous people. It features three little Indigenous girls from different tribes, holding hands to represent the unity of our people, (Indigenous peoples) resilience and strength throughout the many years of suffering Indigenous peoples had to face.

After Shayne won, she received a cash prize and signed over rights, including Copyright, to the Society. In 2022, the Society copyrighted this design and trademarked it as the OJP Logo. The design was slightly altered before it became the OJP Logo, with the words “Orange Jersey Project” along the outside and the words Every Child Matters in the background.

We thank Shayne for allowing us to copyright and trademark her design for OJP!

Truth and
Reconciliation