ZELIENOPLE — Would you buy a $20 T-shirt or tank top to help someone in need?

That's the idea behind Love and Be Loved, a T-shirt company based in Zelienople.

Love and Be Loved sells T-shirts with 50 percent of its proceeds benefiting the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh.

“To have this kind of effort come from high school students is just so important,” said the shelter's CEO and Executive Director Shirl Regan. “They saw the importance of helping reach teenagers and other people with the message of 'Love and Be Loved.'”

Love and Be Loved was started in 2009 by Bret Borghi and Derek Ratkus.

They attended Camp Lambec in Erie and were moved by a discussion on “What is a man?”

“We just went over how the media portrayed men, the roles men play in society and then what a man should be,” said Jordan Miller of Cranberry Township who attended the camp with Borghi and Ratkus.

They came upon the Bible verse Ephesians 5:28, which says “In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.”

Empowered by the verse and discussion, they decided they wanted to raise money to help women.

They brought that mission back to their home church youth group, Harmony-Zelienople United Methodist Church, and started selling T-shirts with their interpretation of Ephesians 5:28, “Love and Be Loved,” at Seneca Valley High School.

“They started printing these shirts in Pittsburgh and donated all the proceeds to the women's shelter,” Miller said.

When it was time for the duo to graduate from high school and follow different paths, the mission was passed to Miller, who joined forces with Chelsea Collier of Zelienople and Sam Perry of Pittsburgh.

The trio turned the idea into an official limited liability corporation (LLC) in March.

“I think it was just a fun project when it started, but (Borghi and Ratkus) weren't prepared for how much it caught on,” said Collier, who is the executive director.

The company has been able to donate about $4,000 to the shelter via word of mouth and a booth at Creation Festival in Mount Union.

The Christian music festival is held each June with thousands of attendees from all over the eastern United States.

This June, the group was able to sell about 350 T-shirts and tank tops during the four-day festival.

The donated money given to the shelter is used to provide free services to those in need.

Regan said it is important to spread the message of Love and Be Loved to younger generations to break the cycle of violence.

“So often violence in a relationship is something that people learn from living with parents with violence or other people with violence,” Regan said,

With its sleek design and simple message, Love and Be Loved is quickly becoming more than just a T-shirt company.

The LLC's new mission is not only to spread love and help those in need, but also to help youths give back to the communities they live in.

The team is planning to expand Love and Be Loved to polos, sunglasses and other accessories.

Youths will also soon be able to receive Love and Be Loved merchandise to sell on their university and high school campuses to benefit local organizations.

“We will really be able to create that sense of community and show what it means to give back,” Collier said.

As the college representative director, Miller is working with groups at the University of Pittsburgh, College of Wooster and Baylor University.

The plan is to have different campaigns for the shirts every three to six months so the proceeds can benefit many organizations.

“There are different organizations everywhere, so if they throw something at us and it sounds cool, we're definitely down for it in that area,” Miller said.

As for now, Miller, Collier and Perry all work at different places to pay the bills and help fund the project.

Miller is a student at the College of Wooster. Collier is a graduate of Penn State University and an intern at the Chamber in Wexford. Perry is a graduate of Grove City College and works at a coffee shop in Pittsburgh and as a freelance artist.

“This is really where our passion lies, and it's definitely a fun project for us,” Collier said.

When asked where would Love and Be Loved be in a perfect world, Miller answered right where it is.

“It kind of is a perfect world,” Miller said. “It's already surpassed my expectation.”

Here are ways to purchase T-shirts, tank tops or to find out how to join the Love and Be Loved campaign.• Website coming soon• E-mail: info.loveandbeloved.org• Facebook: www.facebook.com/loveandbelovedllc• Twitter: @LABLClothing