The grassroots initiative started as a way to honor health care workers at Methodist Richardson Medical Center but quickly morphed into something bigger, MRMC President Ken Hutchenrider said.
“We thought this was a complete and very strong way for us to put our arms around this community and show collectively that we are in this together,” Ken said.
Hutchenrider and his team reached out to Monica Scott, owner of local custom-printing business Logotology, to ask if she could create banners and signs for the Methodist Richardson campus.
It then became clear that the effort could be scaled up citywide, Scott said.
“We felt like this Richardson Strong thing would be really cool to promote across houses as well as businesses,” she said.
About 300 signs are spoken for thus far, Scott said. Several neighborhood groups, including the Canyon Creek Homeowners Association, have purchased signs in bulk to sell or distribute within their communities. Logotology can customize signs for businesses and other large groups by including their organization’s name and logo, Scott said.
In the coming weeks, Logotology will also begin offering Richardson Strong window decals and bumper stickers, Scott said.
Signs also include the hashtag #inthistogether, which Hutchenrider said is a reminder of the shared sacrifice being made by the Richardson community during this time.
“Our community is sacrificing by staying home, by facing all of the daunting tasks they are facing, and we, as a health care provider, are responding by caring for those who are unfortunately stricken by COVID-19,” he said.
A portion of the proceeds from the signs and banners will go to local nonprofit organization Network of Community Ministries. Canyon Creek Homeowners Association purchases have already raised at least $5,000 for Network, homeowners association President Warren Caldwell said.
“We are trying to make this go viral so that we can not only show support for the entire community but [also] for Network of Community Ministries [so they can] do what they need to do to care for those in our community who are really struggling during this time,” Hutchenrider said.
Individuals or organizations interested in the signs can visit www.richardson-strong.com.
