Channel: Joe Joe

Category: People & Blogs

Tags: usaveteranwalking stickshomelessmilitarycanes

Description: This is the story of how a disabled US Military veteran inspired me to start a business called River Walking Sticks. Our website: RiverWalkingSticks.com ---- How We Give Back ----- We are thrilled to have partnered with a couple of great organizations. Faith Missions and Save A Warrior located right here in Columbus, Ohio. We donate a portion of sales directly to these organizations that help veterans with PTSD and homelessness. More Info about these organizations riverwalkingsticks.com/pages/how-we-give-back ---- Our Story ----- Over the past few years, I have been looking for walking sticks down by the Scioto River. I find it relaxing and it clears my mind to walk the river bank and look for that perfect walking stick to sand and varnish. The sticks can travel down river for miles and even years making them unique. One day while looking for sticks, I noticed a man sitting on the river bank with his car parked behind him full of his belongings. I approached him, and we started to chat about walking sticks and how much fun it was to finish them. The man eventually opened up and told me his name was Paul, and he was a homeless US Military Veteran living in his car. Before leaving, I reached in my pocket and pulled out some money to give to him. He seemed embarrassed and ashamed to accept it. I immediately tried to make him feel comfortable and said, "Tell you what, If you're interested, I would love to hire you to sand and varnish these walking sticks I found today. He smiled and said, "You have a deal." A few days later, I showed up, and the sticks were finished and looked amazing. On my drive home, I was thinking that I needed to do more. I started thinking of a way to help Paul continually and other veterans. That's when River Walking Sticks was born! I was excited to hire Paul and a few other veterans. River Walking Sticks sells high-end custom walking sticks and embed authentic vintage military buttons into the walking sticks and canes. Every stick is worked on by a US Military Veteran. Our goal is to employ as many veterans as possible by selling beautiful custom walking sticks. ---------------------------- I would also like to inspire other businesses to give back in an automated way. It's great to donate to a cause on a monthly or yearly basis, but what's even better is to work the giving back process directly into your business model. As a business, we automate billing, shipping, ordering, staffing, and many more things. Why not automate giving back directly into the process. If you look hard enough and think creatively, you'll find a way to give back within your business model. RiverWalkingSticks.com