‘The Big Sein-off’

The demise of the hugely popular “Seinfeld” television show may be a blow to viewers, but it could be a boon to a new Irvine company that is selling “The Big Sein-off” T-shirts on the Internet.

Orders “are coming in from around the world,” said Wes Bledsoe, president of TEN97, which does online fund-raising for nonprofit organizations. “It’s truly turning into a global event.”

With the last “Seinfeld” episode airing May 14, producers agreed to let Bledsoe conduct an online charity auction featuring “Seinfeld” memorabilia, including signed scripts and a vest worn by Jerry Seinfeld’s first girlfriend on the program.

Bledsoe, 43, is also helping with a May 14 fund-raiser dubbed “An Evening About Nothing,” at the Palace in Hollywood, during which fans can watch the last episode on a large screen and participate via computers in the online auction.

Being allowed to sell the T-shirts, which herald both “Seinfeld’s” sign-off and the event at the Palace, is a break for TEN97, said Bledsoe, who co-founded the company earlier this year.

People are clamoring to get the T-shirts in time for parties planned to coincide with the airing of the final show, he said. Orders have come in from as far away as Australia and New Zealand. A Boston woman ordered 17 shirts for women at her beauty parlor, he said.

The fund-raising events are just part of the hoopla surrounding the swan song of a sitcom that attracts about 30 million viewers a week. Indeed, so many viewers are expected to tune in for the last show that advertisers are paying a record-breaking $2 million per 30-second spot.

The T-shirts are being sold on the Internet through May 31. After that, TEN97 will discontinue sales to give the T-shirts “some collector status,” said Bledsoe, who runs his company from his Irvine home.

The shirts cost $20 each ($23 for extra, extra large sizes), plus shipping and handling. TEN97 gets a 25% commission. After other costs are deducted, the charity will get $7.25 to $8.50 per shirt, said Bledsoe, who hopes to sell 50,000 shirts.

Proceeds from T-shirt sales will go to Family Assistance Program, a Hollywood-based nonprofit organization that helps homeless families with children, and families that are at risk of becoming homeless.

George Shapiro, Jerry Seinfeld’s manager and one of the show’s executive producers, is a trustee of Family Assistance Program, and Bledsoe is a former director of the charity, said Rita Tateel, chairwoman of the Family Assistance board of directors.

Tateel said the charity came up with the auction idea and Bledsoe offered to handle the fund-raiser. They got permission from the producers of “Seinfeld” and asked Shapiro to help collect items for the auction, she said.

TEN97 is one of a few companies that do online fund-raising for nonprofit organizations, Bledsoe said. It is a niche market that could become a “platform for a successful business,” he said.

“We’re creating a community for social responsibility where people actually come and get information about fund-raising organizations and help . . . support their critical missions.”

The online auction will begin Thursday and continue through May 14. In addition to benefiting Family Assistance, some proceeds from the auction will go to the I Am Your Child Campaign, which seeks to make early child development a top national priority, Bledsoe said.

The Internet address is https://www.TEN97.com

TEN97 is named after an emergency service code used by police officers and firefighters that means “arrived on scene.” Bledsoe is a former paramedic.