Olympic Support From Local Running Store

Santa Barbara Running Company, the city’s locally owned and operated running store, recently became one of the first stores in the country to carry Janji, a socially conscious business created by recent college runners. The designs of Janji’s shorts and shirts are based on the flags of the countries the apparel benefits. With each piece of apparel sold, proceeds go directly toward nutritional medicine or a season’s worth of water.

The idea for Janji began on the bus to the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships when two teammates, Dave Spandorfer and Michael Burnstein, were motivated by the possibility of combating the global food and water crisis through the power of running. Monica DeVreese, an owner of Santa Barabara Running Company, was an early supporter of Janji.

“We believe Janji has a great product line and a special story that will resonate with our customer,” DeVreese said, “The Santa Barbara community is very proactive when it comes to being on the forefront of helping others.”

Janji is releasing its products this summer in running stores around the country. The organization is working with Olympian Moise Joseph, who will represent Haiti in the 800m run in London, to raise awareness for the 25% of Haitian children who are malnourished.