Local Wine Company Donates $30K from Big Tattoo Wines To Charity
During September and October, Big Tattoo Wines will donate 50 cents from every bottle sold nationwide to Breast Cancer Network of Strength, whose mission is to ensure through information, empowerment and peer support that no one faces breast cancer alone.
Big Tattoo Wines is a brand born as a tribute to a mother who lost her own battle with cancer in 2000. The mission behind the brand is to raise and donate 50 cents per bottle sold to charity. Since the project’s beginning in 2002, it has not strayed from this mission, and has in fact been the path through which distributors, retailers and restaurants have also begun donating portions of their own profits.
To date, Big Tattoo Wines, since inception, has raised more than ,200,000 in charitable funds, with breast cancer research and awareness initiatives being one of the major beneficiaries. Alex Bartholomaus, president and CEO of Billington wines, along with his brother Erik, an accomplished tattoo artist, developed Big Tattoo Wines in honor of their mother Liliana.
The pair pooled their talents, Alex sourcing the wines and Erik designing the label using Liliana’s favorite symbol, the fleur de lys. “The fight against breast cancer is a very important cause to my brother and me. We are very proud to be able to honor our mother in this way and we hope that our donations will help make a difference to support families likes ours who need immediate emotional support and relief when facing a breast cancer diagnosis,” said Alex Bartholomaus.
This year, in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Big Tattoo Wines, for the first time ever, will embark on a national partnership donating proceeds to one national charity – Breast Cancer Network of Strength. In addition to this donation, Big Tattoo Wines will continue to make their already promised donations to local charities nationwide. Breast Cancer Network of Strength, formerly known as Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization is the nation’s oldest breast cancer organization. This year the Chicago based organization marks its 30th anniversary of working to ensure no one faces breast cancer alone. Their mission is accomplished by programs such as the YourShoes™ a 24/ breast cancer support center, which receives calls and offers support in over 150 languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week. YourShoes is composed of breast cancer survivors who are trained peer counselors and truly understand what callers are going through.
Big Tattoo Wines is excited to join forces in this mission. If you or some one you know has been touched by breast cancer you can call YourShoes for immediate support at 800-221-2141 or visit www.networkofstrength.org. Big Tattoo Wines, a partnership between brothers Erik and Alex Bartholomaus, began in 2002 as a way to raise funds for charity in memory of their mother, Liliana S. Bartholomaus.
Fifty cents from every bottle of Big Tattoo sold is donated in their mother’s name to charity, with a portion benefiting the community where the wine is sold. Due to the success of the original Big Tattoo Red, the Big Tattoo project has expanded to include six different wines available in restaurants and retailers nationwide. By 2007, over 70 charities in approximately 33 states have benefited from the more than million raised. For more information, visit www.billingtonwines.com.
