Ever since HOMAGE first launched in 2007, the mission of the company has been focused on one thing: telling stories. Founder Ryan Vesler says that while many of their customers buy tshirts and clothing items that honor a sports legend, on the back end the company finds significant ways to connect those purchases with important causes.
“If we’re honoring a legacy or a person with a shirt, one way we give back is to give to a cause that person was passionate about,” explains Vesler. “We discover the charities that person works with and donate 10% of sales from those items to that nonprofit.”
While those types of donations help causes all across the country, Vesler turns his attention to Columbus to support very specific programs here where his company his headquartered.
“One of our favorite nonprofits is A Kid Again, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses,” he said. “When Mark Titus at OSU was launching Club Trillion we developed a relationship to sell his shirts and 100% of the proceeds went to A Kid Again. Marketing is a strength of ours, so we love to work with groups like that to help shine a light on what they’re doing.”
Vesler sees a similar opportunity with The Big Give campaign, a 24-hour online donation event that allows anyone to donate to local charities through The Columbus Foundation and have their donations amplified by a bonus pool of funds.
“The Foundation is out there as a great platform and a great resource, and The Big Give event shines an extra light on the great work these nonprofits do,” he added. “HOMAGE is a business, but we’re all in this together, so partnering with a group like The Foundation is great because they live in the philanthropy world and can really make a difference.”
All Central Ohioans are invited to support their favorite charities and causes during The Big Give. Online donations to over 630 local nonprofit organizations can be made between 10am on Tuesday May 12th and 10am on Tuesday May 13th. All individual contributions will be amplified by a $1.3 million bonus pool assigned on a pro rata basis.
For more information, visit www.columbusfoundation.org.