“I can draw the meanest Garfield in under 20 seconds,” social studies teacher Roddy Story stated boldly, “and I challenge anyone to beat me in such a contest.”
     Although he does not consider himself a very good artist, Story, who has entertained students with his ability to draw the famous fat cat, has recently begun using his artistic ability to help improve the conditions in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
     1000 JOBS, a non-profit organization started by Story’s in-laws, who also do missionary work in Haiti with the Episcopal church, sells infant onesies produced by Haitians and embroidered with designs drawn by Story. The organization pays their workers a living wage to help them improve their lives.
     The idea behind 1000 JOBS was that by employing the Haitians in jobs using skills they already had, and paying them a decent wage, they would be able to improve their conditions.
     “The first thing they started doing was [greeting] cards, with scenes that the women embroidered onto the front, and they were very successful,” said Story. “Then they had the idea to create onesies, which are wonderful for all ages, especially children.”
     Story was chosen to draw the designs after they discovered that the original pictures, which were drawn by a Disney artist who had volunteered to help, were too complicated for the Haitian women to sew onto the clothes.
     “My mother-in-law knew that I was a less-talented cartoonist, which is sort of what they needed for this,” said Story. “[She] asked me to do some simplistic sketches of some animals. They were cute enough that people would want to clothe their baby in them, but not too complicated that the women wouldn’t be able to sew.”
     Story then proceeded to draw up sketches of different animals requested by his mother-in-law. He would send photos of his sketches to her with his iPhone, and she would respond with the parts of the drawing she liked and what she wanted him to change.
      “She would call me and say, ‘I don’t like this,’ ‘Change this,’ ‘It’s sitting up on all fours, I want it on its hind legs,’” said Story. “The final sketch is sort of the combination of a dozen or so sketches that I did and her sort of picking out which parts she thinks looked good and putting it all together.”
     Despite his talent, some of the drawings proved to be a challenge.
     “The duck took me forever,” said Story. “The back of a duck is hard to draw; I couldn’t figure out how to get the wings together. My dog was pretty easy [though].”
     Although some would call him a humanitarian, Story himself remains humble and refuses to accept any credit for his work.
     “I should get absolutely zero credit for doing anything or having anything to do with this non-profit,” said Story. “This is the least I can do…. This is just a very, very small way that I can help. One of [my in-laws] is down there every month, sometimes more frequently than that.”
     Although he has never been to Haiti, Story describes his wanting to go someday and meet the women whose lives have been so dramatically changed by this organization.
      “From what I’ve heard they are bright, funny, warm, so willing to do anything to help their circumstance,” said Story. “I’d like to do more with Haiti; I’ve talked to my in-laws about going down there.”
     The onesies are available at 1000jobshaiti.org, along with Haitian Awareness bracelets and holiday cards, and other merchandise. Donations can also be made through their website to help combat poverty in Haiti.