Business & Tech

T-Shirt Time: Korver Brothers Team Up for Charity

Chicago Bulls Kyle Korver and his brother, Klayton, debut clothing line to support foundation.

There’s more to Chicago Bulls player Kyle Korver than his stellar 3-point shot. The forward is also the founder of the nonprofit Kyle Korver Foundation and the backer of Seer Outfitters, a clothing line that donates all proceeds to charity.

But in order to make as big of a difference off the court as he does on it, Korver had to call in some help to assist with his philanthropic ventures and looked no further than one of his three siblings, 26-year-old Klayton. 

“I’m the shortest of my brothers,” said the 6-foot-5 former Drake Bulldog, who thought he would play basketball forever. But after knee problems while competing overseas, the marketing major decided to move into Kyle’s Glencoe home and take advantage of his degree by working on the clothing line too.

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“Let’s make T-shirts that we like, and try and sell them,” Klayton remembered Kyle telling him when he first came up with the idea.

“The clothing line is completely separate from the foundation,” Klayton explained but they go hand in hand. “The clothing line is a for-profit that donates all the money to a nonprofit,” simply another way to continue funding Kyle’s foundation.

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“Every city Kyle has played in he has left a permanent thank you to that city,” Klayton said.

He also noted that the foundation built 57 handicap ramps last year in Salt Lake City, where Kyle played for the Utah Jazz up until he signed with the Bulls in 2010. “We have 20 more scheduled for the next couple of months.”   

To get those funded, Seer Outfitters recently came out with a red and black T-shirt in honor of the Bulls' great season. According to the foundation’s website, 1,200 shirts need to sell to make that goal. 

But it’s not only about sales. The brothers have also come up with themes they want the shirts to represent like strength, honor, love, peace and respect.

“A seer is someone whose pictures or images inspires social change,” Klayton said about the company’s name. “The shirts are images and the change is what we do with the money that is raised.”

Now in Chicago, Kyle's foundation is working with William H Brown Elementary School.

“They’re on the watch list to be shutdown,” Klayton said about the Chicago public school near the United Center where the Bulls play. “Our goal is to get them off the list.”

So Korver’s foundation is in the process of creating a parent’s lounge at the West Side school.

“A lot of them [parents] come in and want to fill out a job resume but they don’t have access to computers, so they would sit in a room with kids and try and figure it out.” Klayton said. “We’re creating a room at the school for the parents to be comfortable in with computers.”

The Korvers hope one day Seer Outfitters will be able to fully support the work the organization does.

“We want to help other people do what they’re passionate about,” Klayton said.

But until the clothing line takes off, it’s up to Kyle to keep sinking those threes.  “Go Bulls.” 


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