COLUMBUS, OH – Champion Companies received the 2017 Pillar Award for its contributions to non-profit organizations Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, Children’s Hunger Alliance and the YWCA Family Center.

The Medical Mutual Pillar Award for Community Service, presented by Smart Business, honors businesses of all types and sizes that make outstanding contributions to their community. Its purpose is to encourage a charitable environment, recognize creative efforts and demonstrate the ties between the for-profit and non-profit worlds.

Giving back to a community that has given so much to their company is something that is very important to brother-sister owners Brian Yeager and Michelle Yeager-Thornton. “We are truly humbled to be honored among these top companies,” Brian Yeager, president and CEO, said. “Giving back to our community is something we take very seriously at Champion. It is one of our core principles and is rooted in everything we do.”

This is Champion’s second time being honored with a Pillar Award. The company received the award in 2015 for the creation of the Champion Cares Foundation and its Round Up Your Rent program, which gives residents at a Champion apartment community the ability to round up their rent $1 each month. All proceeds of which are donated to charity.

“At Champion, we believe it is our civic responsibility to help those in need,” Michelle Yeager-Thornton, co-founder and chief operating officer, said. “By giving back to these amazing organizations, Champion is supporting so many others who also call Central Ohio home.”

With each year, the company’s contributions have grown. In 2016, Champion raised more than $250,000 for BBBS, Children’s Hunger Alliance and the YWCA Family Center. “Our team members are so passionate about giving back to those in need,” Kelli Berner, Champion’s human resources director, said. “With more than 750 hours volunteered by our team members in 2016 alone, it is truly in the fabric of who we are.”

Other Pillar Award recipients included, Belle Communications, Big Lots, Columbus City Schools Office of Student Mentoring, Nationwide, PMM Agency, Sophisticated Systems, Inc., TWO MEN AND A TRUCK ® Columbus.
About The Champion Companies

Founded in 2010, Champion is a full-service, multi-family investment and management firm. Champion currently owns and manages nearly 5,000 apartments within Central Ohio, with 13 communities in the growing cities of Columbus (Easton), Delaware, Dublin, Hilliard, Lewis Center (Polaris), New Albany, Westerville and Worthington. Champion has been named a Columbus Business First Fast 50 company for five consecutive years. Champion has also been recognized for its philanthropic efforts, receiving a Columbus Business First Corporate Caring Award in 2015.