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Community Service Events Finalist: Homeward Bound

Colleen Bohen -- Gifts and Dec, 8/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

The art of giving is being perfected at Homeward Bound, a collection of independent lifestyle stores located in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The stores, owned by Kathy Walsh and her husband Trip Rothschild, have been a part of a three-pronged effort to give back to community arts programs. In 2008, the retailer held two events at its New Milford, CT, location designed to introduce the customer to certain artists and organizations.

That September, Homeward Bound hosted an "Enchanted Evening" through which it donated more than $1,800 to participating artists. The event featured performances by the Sherman Chamber Ensemble and dancers from the Fine Line Studio, a local dance studio owned by Broadway dancer Elizabeth Parkinson. A local restaurant partner provided food and wine. According to the owners, Homeward Bound saw more than $2,000 in sales of gifts and accessories that evening and later furnished the homes of two event attendees for more than $30,000 each.

The retailer also hosted an event in October that served as a wrap party for a local theater company. Held on the evening of the company's final performance of Sondheim's "A Little Night Music," the event featured food and drinks from five local restaurants and served as a meet-and-greet opportunity for customers interested in getting up-close-and-personal with the cast. The event is credited with helping the theater sell out that evening's performance. The store benefitted through immediate sales of over $1,800 in gifts and accessories. The owners also say three customers returned within three months, each citing the event and spending more than $500 each.

Supporting Future Artists

In addition to its events, Homeward Bound donates 10 percent of the sale of each Sugarboo frame to send an inner city student to the Earl Mosley Institute of Dance. The retailer says it sold $50,000 worth of Sugarboo frames last year.

Homeward Bound's owners are getting more than just warm fuzzy feelings from their good deeds. Despite the slow economy, they say sales are up 10 percent company-wide and that the New Milford store is actually up 37 percent. They have also been nominated for an award from their local arts council, which they expect will lead them to "wider networks of arts organizations and their audiences who will become our customers."

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