A Cause Worth Wearing is a new collaboration by lifestyle website LB Living, the Arts Council for Long Beach and Long Beach Gives that is offering locals a chance to take home some original, wearable artwork while also paying it forward.

Each month, for the next year, an artist selected from the Art Council’s artist registry will create a specialty T-shirt for a local non-profit partnered with Long Beach Gives. The shirts will feature new, exclusive artwork designed by the artist and will be available for sale online via the LB Living marketplace website. Profits from the shirts will support both the artist and the non-profit.

“The Arts Council for Long Beach is pleased to help support local artists and nonprofits through this marketplace,” the council said in a statement. “By supporting initiatives like this we help foster creativity and culture, enliven communities and enable a thriving creative economy.”

January’s launch features local multimedia artist Tatiana Velazquez, who creates under the moniker Baked Papaya. Her art, which feature bold linework, geometric shapes, and unconventional color schemes, can be found on murals in South Central Los Angeles, Amsterdam and in Long Beach. Locally, you can still spot her work on the side of Ashley’s Bar, as part of the 2018 POW WOW! campaign, on a wall facing Broadway and Cherry Avenues and a utility box on 10th Street and Long Beach Boulevard.

Latino youth empowerment non-profit, Latinos in Action, will be this month’s recipients. Their advocacy focuses on strengthening Latino communities in health, education, housing, and immigration, while also helping women, through leadership development courses, overcome any barrier they may be facing at home in or in their personal life.

You can keep up with the new releases on the LB Living Facebook page. The new collaborations will be released toward the middle of each month. The Baked Papaya and Latinos in Action T-shirts cost $40 and are available for pre-order now, click here.