The 23rd time was the charm for Beau Bergeron.
The Oakland graphic designer had taken a crack at selling t-shirts he had designed in the past. 22 times he tried without much success.
But then came design number 23.
"It was incredible," Bergeron said. "I spent a lot of time at my computer hitting refresh, hitting refresh and watching those numbers go up, the sales go up."
So what was different about this design? Well, it was designed not only to look good but to help people, too.
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His line of Louisiana flooding-themed shirts has raised more than $50,000 to aid victims of last month's flooding in his hometown of Baton Rouge.
"It's a part of me spiritually and culturally being from Louisiana," Bergeron said.
Bergeron was saddened by the images he saw coming from his home state last month. Heavy rains caused devastating flooding all over the state, but particularly in Baton Rouge. He was heartened, though, by the response he saw from his former neighbors: people rushing to help each other in their times of need.
"I felt really inspired," Bergeron said. "I saw these videos of guys in their fishing boats getting people out of cars before they submerged, getting them off the roofs."
That flotilla of private boats soon came to be known as the "Cajun Navy." They were people simply using the tools and expertise to help in any way they could. Bergeron thought there was no reason he couldn't do the same. Or, at least strive to have the same result.
"I don't have any boat skills, but I sat down at my computer," Bergeron said.
He has since designed a whole line of t-shirts based on the "Cajun Navy" theme and sells them on the Teespring e-commerce site. A spokesperson for Teespring says Bergeron's fundraiser is one of the largest they have ever hosted on their platform.
