National Champion race car driver Colin Garrett and the 11/11 Veteran Project has partnered with Sensiil Studios, the first black-owned veteran-owned comic book company in Iowa and Nebraska, for a crowdfunder to publish the studio’s next graphic novel, Regicide: Havoc, and promote more veteran-owned small businesses through Garrett’s racing.
Sensiil Studios and Iowa Army National Guard member Basi White met Garrett after winning an 11/11 pitch competition for veteran-owned businesses at the Iowa Veterans Entrepreneurship Conference. White also saw Garrett win the SRO TC America TCX championship in Indianapolis while he displayed the Sensiil Studios logo on his car. Winning the contest inspired White to feature Garrett as a character in his new graphic novel.
White now wants to pay it forward by helping more veteran and military spouse-owned businesses like his win a spot on Garrett’s car. For each 500 books ordered through the crowdfunder, Garrett will promote another veteran or military spouse-owned business on one of his cars in 2024.
Winners will be chosen by lottery from members of Veterans Growing America, another veteran-owned business that Garrett promoted on his NASCAR Xfinity Series car in 2021.
Retired Army Command Sergeant Major Donnell Johns, founder of Veterans Growing America, was able to leverage VGA’s spot on the car, using the exposure for strategic brand awareness and positioning,
“Veterans Growing America went from doing one day events to a storefront in a premium shopping center,” he said.
The crowdfunding campaign has also attracted the attention of popular military social media influencer and comic Austin von Letkemann, also known as MandatoryFunDay.
“We’ve been promoting veteran-owned businesses since 2019 but this project stands out to me as the most fun way yet to choose which businesses we promote,” Garrett said. “I look forward to being able to partner with the contest winners in other original ways to grow their business while helping others. Each business we promote ends up helping their fellow businesses, which is really cool,” he added.
Garrett added to his history-making racing career in October by becoming the first to win a national championship while focusing on promoting causes for veterans, military families, and the disabled. He and 11/11 Veteran Project partner with companies that want to give back to the military community by promoting access to existing resources that help them live healthy, happy lives.
“The only way we can execute this mission is by being on the track racing,” he said. “That’s what makes it possible to promote access to resources in such a highly visible way. We look forward to taking our mission as far as possible to help as many people as possible, and to partnering with great companies to make that happen.”
To learn more about the fundraiser and to make a contribution, visit here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.