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Maine companies team up, sell shirts to raise money for families of Emmy Rose crew

The outpouring of support grows for the families of four fishermen lost at sea two weeks ago.

It's been exactly two weeks since four fishermen from Maine were lost at sea when their boat sank off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts.

And for the families they leave behind, there has been support from across the country thanks to an online fundraiser and a raffle from Free Range Fish and Lobster in Portland.

Now, there's another fundraiser in the works: one where you can show support right on your sleeve.

At 320 Ink in Westbrook, there's a tall order to fill.

"This is impactful," Drew Nickerson, the owner, said.

The holiday season is normally busy but this year the extra orders are about supporting the families of four fishermen who died at sea.

"We didn't know them on a personal level, but being part of this fishing industry here, everyone sort of knows everyone you know everyone feels really connected," Nicole Strout, co-owner of Rugged Seas, said.

Strout and her husband own Maine-based clothing company, Rugged Seas, which is known for repurposing fishing bibs.

RELATED: People from Maine to Alaska raise thousands for families of fishermen lost at sea

RELATED: Rugged Seas honors an industry with products that speak to the fishing lifestyle

"Taylor and I, we had finished Thanksgiving dinner and we were sitting around talking and we thought we just can't even imagine being them right now and how they're feeling," she said.

So to help them, Strout and Nickerson teamed up to design and sell Emmy Rose t-shirts.

It's part of 320 Ink's TipJar program that they launched in March to help make t-shirts to fundraise for any business or organization that needs help during the pandemic.

"That's kind of where this tied in so well," Nickerson said.

You can wear support for Emmy Rose right on your sleeve. On the back, it reads, "it's not the price of the fish we pay for it's the soul of the fishermen."

So far, people from coast to coast have placed orders, 1,200 and counting.

"I think within the first three hours we sold about 500 shirts," said Strout.

And the families of those four fishermen will get 100 percent of the proceeds.  

RELATED: Candlelight vigil held for four Maine fishermen lost at sea

RELATED: Coast Guard suspends search for four Maine fishermen missing off coast of Massachusetts

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