Reason behind the Gaudreau memorial shirt delay

Yahoo

14-03-2025

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus Apparel Company held a fundraiser in September to support the Gaudreau family in the wake of Johnny and Matthew's deaths.
The effort, though, bankrupted the company and customers are frustrated they haven't received their orders.
Tom Summers, owner of Columbus Apparel Company, said when he teamed up with CBJ Artillery, he did not expect the volume of orders that would come in and the challenges that would come with it. He's making it clear that he's committed to printing and shipping all existing orders before closing up shop.
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A December Facebook post announcing the company's closure was met with more than 600 comments from frustrated customers.
Andy Jewett said he's still waiting on the sweatshirt he ordered in September.
'I reached out once on Facebook and I got a reply, and then after that, nothing, just, 'Yes, we have it,' and they were like, 'You know, we can't check all the emails, we're getting too many,' so I figured what's the point if they're not going to respond to it,' Jewett said.
Alex Collins also purchased a sweatshirt. She received hers about two months after placing the order.
'I feel bad for the people who didn't get their order, but I also feel bad for him, too,' Collins said. 'He was trying to do a good thing, just didn't end up working out the way he thought it would.'
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Summers released this statement:
'We understand that people are frustrated with the length of time it is taking for us to complete the orders. We want to thank CBJ Artillery for all of their efforts and despite some real setbacks in filling orders, we will always be in awe of what Columbus and the Hockey Community were able to achieve. We want to thank everyone who donated and for all of the pictures, videos and messages about the orders they've received and their excitement and sentiments.
What began as a small fundraiser with the CBJ Artillery to support the Gaudreau Family grew to become much bigger than we ever could have anticipated. We had no idea when we made the commitment to contribute, the volume of orders that would come in and all of the challenges that would come with it. We are a very small shop and were simply not prepared or equipped to handle a job that large. Unfortunately, quite a few people who initially committed to help us tackle things quickly disappeared. Faced with that challenge, we sent a large portion of the printing to other companies to help us meet the demand and deadline. Unfortunately, the work done for us was unacceptable so we lost the time and money involved in that process, in addition to then having to add that to our existing workload. Those are just a couple of numerous disappointments that have delayed things along the way. Requests for refunds almost immediately started pouring in right after the fundraiser ended. Since the donation for their purchase had already been made, the refunds were coming directly from us. These challenges, along with printing, shipping and timely communication have proven to be just too much for one person to handle, which is the position we found ourselves in pretty quickly. While this has bankrupted us and we are having to close, we are committed to seeing this through, are still printing and shipping. We will continue to do so until every last order is filled or refunded.
Thank you again to your team, Columbus and the Hockey Community and we will continue to work diligently to complete every order as fast as we can.
-Thank You, Columbus Apparel Co.'
One-hundred percent of the proceeds went directly to support Matthew Gaudreau's widow, Madeline, and their newborn, Tripp; a total of $124,346 was raised.
'I think they meant well,' Jewett said. 'They were trying to do a good thing. They just kind of bit off more than they could chew.'
While customers like Emily Johnson hope to see their orders soon, they recognize Summers was coming from a good place.
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'I get how people are upset about it,' Johnson said. 'Like they spent their money to get a shirt. But in my opinion, he shouldn't be getting all the hate for not sending it out because it's only one guy. One guy taking on thousands of orders is not easy.'
Summers said he continues to work diligently to complete every order as fast as he can.
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