Strong Campaign with Every New Tragedy

In Ohio, a heart-shaped mural with the phrase “Dayton Strong” hangs in front of the bar where a gunman killed nine people. In Texas, “El Paso Strong,” written in red, white and blue, adorns homemade banners after a shooter killed 22 at a Walmart.

In California, where a gunman killed three people at a garlic festival, black fundraising T-shirts bear the words “#GilroyStrong.”

FILE – In this June 12, 2016 file photo, people hold signs at a vigil in Cal Anderson Park in Seattle for the victims of a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Ever since “Boston Strong” became a rallying cry after the Boston Marathon bombing, the idea of “strong” has become an inescapable part of how this country heals after the tragedy. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP, File)

But before there was Dayton Strong, El Paso Strong, and Gilroy Strong, there was Boston Strong.

“Strong” has become an inescapable part of how this country heals when unspeakable tragedy strikes. It’s embedded in social media posts, makeshift memorials, pins, stickers and other mementos of grief.

The phrase was born after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded scores more at the downtown finish line of the storied race.

FILE – In this Sept. 10, 2017 file photo, a “Houston Strong” sticker is added to the helmet of Houston Texans players prior to an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Houston, two weeks after Hurricane Harvey pounded the city. Ever since “Boston Strong” became a rallying cry after the Boston Marathon bombing, the idea of “strong” has become an inescapable part of how this country heals after the tragedy. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Christopher Dobens, whose “Boston Strong” T-shirts helped push the phrase into the national lexicon, says he has mixed feelings about the unexpected legacy.

“It’s heartbreaking to see that it keeps having to come up,” the now 25-year-old Beverly, Massachusetts, resident, said Wednesday. “That’s the part that hurts the most. That so many places around the world are having to use this mantra because they’re being hit with terrible tragedies.”

Dobens was a student at Boston’s Emerson College when he and fellow student Nicholas Reynolds decided to create T-shirts to help raise money for victims in the hours after the terror attack.

FILE – In this Aug. 15, 2018, file photo, a student walks past an “MSDSTRONG” banner on the way to class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. A gunman killed 17 people at the school on Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Inspired by cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong cancer foundation and the U.S. Army’s “Army Strong” slogan, Dobens said they initially came up with: “Stay strong, Boston strong.”

They cut it down simply to Boston Strong and printed it out in bold, yellow letters on blue T-shirts — the colors of the Boston Marathon. The shirts went on to raise $1 million for the city’s fund for victims as well as other local charities.

In the years since it has been used after mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; a country music festival in Las Vegas; and the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, among others.

FILE – In this Aug. 5, 2019 file photo, Monica Charter organizes a table of freshly printed El Paso Strong t-shirts at Proper Printshop in El Paso, Texas, with proceeds earmarked to the El Paso Community Foundation’s El Paso Shooting Victim’s Fund. Ever since “Boston Strong” became a rallying cry after the Boston Marathon bombing, the idea of “strong” has become an inescapable part of how this country heals after the tragedy. (Mark Lambie/The El Paso Times via AP, File)

And it’s not just for shootings: Houston Strong became a rallying cry for the Texas city after Hurricane Harvey barreled through in 2017, causing 68 deaths.

“As long as people are doing it for the right reasons and looking to help those who are in need, that’s really the heart of it,” said Dobens. “It’s about making sure we’re a community and that we’re all in this together and helping each other through these dark times.”

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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

FILE – In this Oct. 23, 2005 file photo, Michael Hamlet, of Milford, Mass, shows off his yellow shoes as he crosses the finish line at the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Ride for the Roses in Austin, Texas. The foundation was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist, Lance Armstrong. The Livestrong brand was launched by the foundation in 2003. Ever since “Boston Strong” became a rallying cry after the Boston Marathon bombing, the idea of “strong” has become an inescapable part of how this country heals after the tragedy. (Deborah Cannon/American-Statesman via AP, File )