Taylor T-Shirts Impact Lives Through Partnership with World Orphans

Would it really be a prospective student visit without a free t-shirt? If you see a student walking backwards across campus giving a Taylor tour, you’re bound to see some visitors with classic Taylor purple t-shirts hanging over their arms. However, you might not know that this common prospective student gift is creating uncommon change in the lives of Guatemalan families through Taylor’s partnership with World Orphans.

World Orphans is a non-profit organization with a vision of relational healing and financial independence for families who have been separated due to poverty or abuse. One of the ministry arms within the organization is the World Orphans Market, an economic empowerment program. This program equips women with sewing skills, and these women are then employed as artisans to return to them the dignity of meaningful work and financial freedom.

All of World Orphans’ work is grounded in a Christ-centered philosophy of human worth: everyone is created with intrinsic dignity and with a God-given purpose. Additionally, World Orphans works through local churches, ensuring that these women are supported by Christ-centered communities as they work their way out of poverty and towards better lives for their families.

A Story of Community

Like so many Taylor stories, Taylor’s journey to partnering with World Orphans is a story of community. When the Admissions team connected with World Orphans, they saw an opportunity—an opportunity for Taylor as an organization to model the same mission it seeks to foster in its student body. Taylor always has a need for t-shirts—particularly in Admissions. Here, Taylor’s tangible need for shirts meets these Guatemalan women’s tangible need for living-wage work, creating a true, mutually beneficial partnership.

As the Admissions team collaborated with World Orphans’ Guatemalan team, they encountered some community connections that made one thing clear—God had already been opening doors for this partnership. One of these connections was Lily Sachsenmeier ’26, who finished her Orphaned & Vulnerable Children degree interning at World Orphans in Guatemala, where "a highlight was getting to talk with social workers at World Orphans who support local families, empowering parents with education and resources to care for their children. I was really moved by the personal experiences they shared and by their passion for their work."

During her time in Guatemala, Sachsenmeier also had the opportunity to meet some of the artisans making the t-shirts for Taylor Admissions, bringing this community story full circle.

Purple with a Purpose

Reflecting on Taylor’s choosing World Orphans to supply their next batch of Admissions t-shirts, Sachsenmeier said, "I’m deeply touched that Taylor is partnering with World Orphans. As a student, I got many free t-shirts for events and programs, and I’m so glad that Taylor is being intentional about where they source some of these t-shirts. I’m incredibly proud that Taylor is investing in t-shirts made by these women in Guatemala as part of World Orphans’ economic empowerment program!"

At Taylor, a t-shirt is so much more than a clothing item—it’s a walking billboard for who we are. It says, "I believe in what goes on here." Now, Taylor purple has additional purpose. These t-shirts are a physical manifestation of our mission to "minister Christ’s redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need." They are a reminder of a God who opens doors. And a reminder of what a true partnership can look like.