MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1999

Cal State Long Beach alumnus with a Cauzz

By Greg Hanson

On-line Forty-Niner

Samuel Chi hopes to help Cal State Long Beach students and change the world all at the same time.

Chi, who graduated from CSULB in 1996, along with three of his friends, have designed a clothing line called "Cauzz," which will be displayed and sold at today's 1999 Kaleidoscope Festival.

In hopes of helping the CSULB campus community, Chi and his colleagues are hoping to donate 51 percent of thier profits to the university. And at local stores, Cauzz will donate the same amount to organizations that help such causes as the fight against AIDS and homelessness.

"Everyone at some point wants to help somebody," Chi said. "You get clothing for yourself, but you are also clothing someone else [with the money that you are spending.]"

Cauzz has made "a special shirt just for Kosovo," Chi said. Some of the money earned from those shirts will benefit the homeless in Kosovo.

Chi and his friends came up with the idea for the company about four years ago.

"[Helping people] is a mission that we are trying to accomplish," Chi said.

A card will accompany every item of clothing, Chi said.

The card will be filled out by the customers, informing the company which organization they want their money donated to.

Chi, who was a psychology major and assistant coach for the Long Beach State's men's basketball team, said he hopes that the product will catch on.

"We provide stuff for everybody," Chi said of the clothing line that consists mainly of T-shirts and hats.

The logo for Cauzz is illustrated using a equal sign with a circle around it.

The circle symbolizes the earth and the equal sign signifies that everyone is created equal, even though not everyone is under equal conditions right now, Chi said.

Cauzz' website, cauzz.com, stated that "the power of life is in giving," and it displays some startling statistics.

Approximately 250,000 children die of malnutrition every week, according to the website. The number of diabetes cases in adults globally is 1.43 million. Approximatley 590,000 children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV.

AIDS and HIV caused 2.3 million deaths globally in 1997.

Chi and his crew want to help everybody.

"Hopefully we will bring everybody together," he said.

Currently, Cauzz officials and CSULB Associated Students Inc. are in drafting a contract in order to implement the proceeds.