Hello Charlotte Beer Babes & Friends!

I wanted to give an update on the giving that we collectively participated in for our Quarter 2 focus on Local Animal Non-Profits!

On Thursday, May 1, 2014, we headed to Unknown Brewing to help fundraise for the Greater Charlotte SPCA. Our focus was to try to raise monetary funds and awareness for the group. We were joined by 10 foster dogs and their families, plus a handful of GCSPCA volunteer/staff members for some tasty beers and a great cause! In total, we wound up raising just under $700 for this event, and so GCSPCA was able to treat two heartworm positive rescue dogs!

On Tuesday, June 12, 2014, we headed to Triple C Brewing to help fundraise for the Humane Society of Charlotte. Our focus was to try to obtain wishlist items for the shelter, as well as do some monetary fundraising, while spreading awareness for the group. We were joined by the HSC Special Events Manager, and many dog lovers, to drink some delicious craft brews and support a good cause! In total, we raised $180 in cash, and (WOOHOO) were able to get roughly $350 worth of donated items for the charity! Donated items included: canned organic/regular pumpkin, dry cat food, wet cat food, wet dog food, dozens of tennis balls, cleaning supplies, and Fish Oil pills.

This was the first quarter of us really doing our own events, and I am so proud of the support we were collectively able to garner for these great charities! This year’s Quarter 1 was a test run and so we had joined up with two other worthy charities to fundraise and raise awareness for them. To recap those events in support of our Quarter 1 focus on Children’s Charities…

On Saturday, February 1, 2014, we had 10 Charlotte Beer Babes volunteering at the Queen City Brewer’s Festival (QCBF) to sell raffle tickets for ACEing Autism. In total, we sold just over $3000 in raffle tickets (100% went to charity). In addition, the festival had 90% of the proceeds going to the charity, as it is a beer festival geared specifically towards fundraising for this wonderful cause!

On Wednesday, March 12, 2014, we went to Grapevine Wine Shop to support Olde Mecklenburg Brewery‘s own Ryan Self and his extended family, as they raised money by guest bartending for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) 5K for their family team. Hannah (Ryan’s niece) has Type 1 Diabetes, and they fundraise & walk every year in honor and support of this courageous young lady. Overall, the guest bartending (with yours truly as one of four bartenders) helped to raise just over $1100 for the Self family team!

For Quarter 3, which will be July, August & September, we will have a focus on Military, where we will have events to support Operation Homefront of the Carolinas as well as The Patriot Charities. Both are local Carolina-based-and-supporting charities.

For Quarter 4, since this is the quarter of the Charlotte Beer Babes’ inception (December), we will close off the year by supporting Women’s Charities! We have something really great and unique planned for our big event, but will have a few events throughout October, November and December to support local charities. I am still deciding (with assistance from you CBBs!) which charities to support, so if you have a favorite, please let me know!

We will also be supporting Second Harvest Food Bank in both Quarters 3 and 4, since both focused groups benefit from the SHFB’s wonderful works. I also know that many of you had said this is a charity you want to support, so just so you know I am listening – we’re doing it up twice! I am thinking one event will be a food drive, and the other will be a volunteering evening AT Second Harvest itself to help sort items for them, followed by grabbing a beer nearby!

I look forward to any feedback you have to give, and hope to see you all out and about at future events we have upcoming! You can email me or leave a comment on the Feedback page.

Finally, but most importantly, and from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT with these fundraising ventures.

I am do a lot of volunteering and fundraising on my own time, and was so stoked when so many of you expressed an interest in doing these events together and around beer! I am so happy to plan, share, and participate in all of these events with all of you, and hope you all enjoy them even half as much as I do!

If you’d be interested in volunteering for events not around beer, please let me know and I can get you information on that for whatever groups you’d be interested in helping out!

Thank you, Merci, Gracias, Grazie, Danke, Gura míle!
Cheers, Salut, Prost, Slainté,
Bethany