Brian Christopher was a homeless Navy vet living in a shelter for veterans in Boston. Now Christopher has a licensing agreement with accessories maker and merchant Dynomighty Designs.
And it may have not happened without the Spirit of Christmas.
You see, last December, Christopher found a Dynomighty Design Mighty Wallet on the street. Instead of keeping the wallet and the $172, he decided to turn the wallet in at a local police station.
Thanks to a receipt inside the wallet, the police found the original owner, a bike messenger, who was reunited with her wallet and the cash.
The story was reported by several media outlets, and Christopher’s gesture was rewarded with an outpouring of generosity from all around the country in the form of letters, media attention and donations to him and The New England Center for Homeless Veteran’s.
“The story embodied the spirit of Christmas but was also an example of the valor that our service men and women uphold even under the toughest of circumstances and called attention to the challenges that many of our Vets face after service,” said Dynomighty Design president Terrence Kelleman, who learned from watching media reports that the wallet was his company’s product.
At the time, Kelleman said wanted to do something to honor Christopher’s simple act. That’s when he discovered that Christopher was also an artist.
“We had the idea to create a unique opportunity to further Brian’s artistic ambitions and at the same time give him a means of financial stability by inviting him to create his very own Mighty Wallet, which Dynomighty could then sell and distribute throughout the world,” Kelleman said “We reached out to Brian at the height of his media attention and put a plan together to realize this opportunity in the following year.”
This past summer, Dynomighty invited Brian to New York for an artistic collaboration to make a Mighty Wallet with his art.
“The result was one of the best Mighty Wallet designs we’ve produced to date,” Kelleman said. “We have great hope for the financial success of Brian’s Mighty Wallet as it is currently being considered for inclusion in a major specialty store retailer for 2012.”
Half of the proceeds of the sales go to Brian and an additional portion goes to a veteran’s shelter of Brian’s choosing.
VIDEO
Terrence Kelleman collaborates in New York on the design for Brian Christopher’s wallet.