President Obama will deliver the University of Michigan spring commencement address on May 1st. While that is certainly newsworthy, a lot of the buzz surrounding the president’s visit is due to a new campaign, called Obama4IMU.

You may recall our very first featured Young Detroiter David Merritt, president and CEO of I Miss You, Inc. (IMU), the new apparel company that focuses on community service. Now Merrit is trying to get his t-shirts into the hands of the most powerful man in America. “The goal is getting President Barack Obama to wear an IMU t-shirt during his visit,” he says.

The campaign began on April 1st and has really taken off.  “The purpose behind the campaign is simply to help IMU spread its message of happiness and the importance of giving back.  We feel like our message is a message that can resonate around the world, so we are asking people to sign our petition.”

Although their goal of 1,000 signatures has been reached, people are still encouraged to sign up and show their support.  Merritt says that the response has been great, and has reassured those who are hesitant that this is not about politics, but about service, “It’s not about Republican or Democrat. This is about citizenship. This is about humanity and the importance of spreading happiness and giving back. It has absolutely nothing to do with political affiliation. Once we get that point across, they’re usually receptive.  We’ve gotten great feedback overall,” according to Merritt.

When Merritt was asked why the president would be a good fit to rock the IMU t-shirt, he said, “The president ran on change, but it wasn’t just change in Washington.  He felt that we are the change.  We can change our community by volunteering,” said Merritt, “It works hand in hand. We’re a service minded company that is trying to better the community, and he’s a service-minded president.”

To learn how you can help the campaign and win free IMU apparel, visit Obama4IMU.com or IMUtheinsideout.com.

- Elisse Ramey for I Am Young Detroit