Queen’s-branded apparel is a way for the university community to show off their tricolour pride. But for Oil Thigh Designs (OTD) it is also a way to make meaningful contributions to the Kingston community.

OTD is a completely student-run not-for-profit retailer under the Commerce Society that gives 100 per cent of its proceeds to local, national, and international charities. They have a store in the Rideau Building on Stuart Street, and they sell a wide variety of casual clothing, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats, all featuring designs that show off the Queen’s spirit or speak to the student experience. Started in 1994, OTD is closing in on $200,000 in total donations made since its founding. Its most recent donation was a $10,000 gift to Martha’s Table, a Kingston-based organization that connects local residents in need with nutritious food through free meals and a food bank.

“Martha’s Table does incredible work helping to feed people in the Kingston community who are in need, and there was a lot of enthusiasm among our members to help support their mission,” says Cooper Raposo, co-Managing Director, OTD and fourth-year economics student. “Ever since the pandemic, I think all of us in Oil Thigh Designs have become more aware of the fact that many people in Kingston need help in some form, whether it’s food, shelter, or anything else many people take for granted. We donate to a wide range of charities, but all of us are especially passionate about giving to local organizations because we benefit so much from being a part of the Kingston community. We want to give back.”

This year’s donation is just the latest gift that OTD has made to Martha’s Table.

“As a charitable organization that serves thousands of meals every year, we rely on support from the community to be able to fulfill our mission,” says Ronda Candy, Executive Director, Martha’s Table. “The Queen’s students who run Oil Thigh Designs have stepped up repeatedly over the years with impactful donations that help us meet the needs of the local community. We’re very grateful to their commitment to supporting people who are experiencing food insecurity in Kingston.”

Other Kingston charities that Oil Thigh Designs has donated to include the Kingston Interval House, Almost Home, and the Kingston chapter of Big Brothers and Sisters of Canada. Beyond Kingston, they have donated to the SickKids Foundation, Step Above Stigma, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and Rainbow Railroad.

OTD has grown significantly in recent years, and last year was their biggest year yet for donations, giving $41,070 to charities. They are on pace to surpass that total in 2023.

Students wearing Oil Thigh Designs apparel. (Kennedy Iaboni/Oil Thigh Designs)

Student dedication to impact

The students in OTD are also planning to expand their local impact by engaging in more volunteer work.

“In-person volunteer work has always been an important way for the members of Oil Thigh Designs to contribute to our local community,” says Davis Wilkie, co-Managing Director, OTD and fourth-year commerce student. “The pandemic affected our ability to volunteer as much as we would have liked, but we are now working to make group volunteering an integral part of what we do again. We’ll be organizing our first volunteer initiatives of the year soon, likely starting with Martha’s Table.”

OTD is run by an executive comprised of 44 student volunteers. Each member focuses on specific aspects of the operation, such as graphic design or marketing, and they all work at least one shift a week at the OTD store. Each member has a say in deciding which organizations OTD donates to.

“Each member of our team volunteers around 10 hours a week to all the different operations that keep Oil Thigh Designs going,” says Ariane Guyonnet, co-Managing Director, OTD and fourth-year commerce student. “They are an incredibly dedicated group who want to make a real difference in the community, and we couldn’t raise money for donations without them.”

Donations for cancer

OTD recently contributed $25,000 to the Tricolour Classic charity basketball game, another charitable initiative run by Queen’s students. The game between commerce and engineering students took place on Oct. 19 in the Leon’s Centre in downtown Kingston and raised more than $180,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Learn more about their impact on the Oil Thigh Designs website.

Queen’s community impact

Donations from OTD represent only part of Queen’s social and economic impact on the Kingston community, which has been measured in a study conducted by Deloitte. That study found that Queen’s students, faculty, and staff annually raise more than $1M to support local causes. It also found that Queen’s students work thousands of volunteer hours for local charities.

Tricolour Outlet, another student-run clothing retailer, also recently contributed to Queen's community impact by collaborating with a local Cree artist to create t-shirts supporting the Orange Shirt Society for the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. 

Learn more about the community and economic impact of Queen’s students and read the full study on the Queen’s Economic and Community Impact website.