THUNDER BAY – BUSINESS – Your pint made a difference! Sleeping Giant Brewing Company is proud to donate $11,380 to local charities and organizations following the Craft Cares movement that took over Thunder Bay bars, restaurants and a bakery from January 1st until Valentine’s Day.
For every Sleeping Giant Brewing Company product sold at participating Licensee locations, $0.50 was donated to a charity or organization of their choice. In total 32 charities and organizations were supported, while 46 Licensees participated in the Craft Cares movement. Loch Lomond was at the top of the funding list, with a contribution from Craft Cares of $994.50 to Jump Start, followed by The Foundry and the Thunder Bay Airport.
“The Foundry is proud to help make this contribution to a charity that is close to all of our staff’s hearts. The Craft Cares funding will be donated to support our dear late friend, Kurt Martel’s family. Kurt was a bartender with us from the beginning and helped The Foundry establish an identity of who we are, so any chance we have to show our love for him is much appreciated,” says The Foundry Owner, Dane Newbold. “The Foundry is pleased to match today’s donation from Sleeping Giant Brewing Company, for a grand total of $1928 being contributed to the Kurt Martell family.”
“The neat thing about Craft Cares is that Sleeping Giant Brewing Company left it up to our Licensees to decide with their staff, who benefits from the movement. A lot of the bars and restaurants got together to determine what cause was important to them,” explains Sleeping Giant Brewing Company, General Manager, Kevin Brewer. “The Licensees took it upon themselves to engage with their customers to support Craft Cares while talking about their selected charities. Craft Cares was all about making community connections and raising awareness about charities and organizations that are doing great things in Thunder Bay.”
“The Airport Authority extends its appreciation to both food service vendors for being such giving community partners. Both Aramark and Pinetree Catering collaborated with Sleeping Giant Brewing Company on this worthwhile cause. Thank you to both of them, “ says Ed Schmidtke, Thunder Bay International Airports Authority, President & Chief Executive Officer.
“Loch Lomond is pleased to see the Craft Cares funding support Jump Start. This is an initiative we think is great as it helps kids get active and embrace winter. Thunder Bay is so unique in the sense of local businesses really supporting the community so much, and it’s great to see the Craft Cares movement to give back in such a big way,” says Graham Dowd, Loch Lomond Bartender and Ski Instructor.
The Sleeping Giant Brewing Company staff celebrated on February 19, 2019 with Craft Cares participating Licensees, by presenting cheques to all of the selected charities and organizations. “Thank you to everyone that supported Craft Cares. Whether it was enjoying one of your favourite brews, or raising awareness about a charity close to your heart, together we were able to make a difference for thousands of people in our community,” says Sleeping Giant Brewing Company CEO and Co-founder, Andrea Mulligan.
“This won’t be the last the community will see of Craft Cares. The movement is important to our staff and company, and we think Craft Cares will become a staple at the brewery. The community will definitely see the initiative evolve over the next year to further support community organizations, charities, events and great causes that make living in Thunder Bay a better place to be. ”
