THUNDER BAY — Hopes are high for the fundraising potential of a new local beer, the Better Is Possible SMASH Lager.
The United Way of Thunder Bay and Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. launched the Single Malt and Single Hop Lager (SMASH) beer on Tuesday evening.
The three-year partnership between the two aims to raise $30,000 over the three years – $10,000 per year.
“The United Way represents one of the biggest charities in Canada. The most unique part is that the money raised here in Thunder Bay stays here in Thunder Bay, and so we're able to help a lot of different programs,” said Kevin Brewer, general manager at Sleeping Giant Brewing Co.
Craft beer can end up being not approachable for a lot of different people, Brewer said. “We feel like with this product, with this specific beer, if you like beer, you’ll really enjoy this.”
As a person born and raised in Thunder Bay, Brewer said it’s important to work for a place that will help to make sure there is a future for everyone.
“When you get the opportunity to work with such reputable organizations like United Way, and do really awesome work in your community, you take those opportunities and you take the risks as well, but nothing hard is easy to do.
“We’re running with it and we have a great partner with United Way and we're looking forward to any challenges that come up. We're happy to be a part of this and hopefully raise a lot of money for the United Way,” he said.
Albert Brulé, CEO of United Way Thunder Bay, said this is a unique way to raise money.
“I think what's different about this initiative that we're spearheading is that traditionally the United Way does an annual campaign and workplaces and businesses and families and school groups and service clubs all come together and contribute to the annual campaign.
“What we wanted to do with Better Is Possible is identify some of the most challenging issues of poverty facing our community, work with partners, not just the United Way, but with other funders, with business community leaders, nonprofit agencies, and come up with solutions that we hope will really make a difference, some things that you can't just do in a year,” he said.
The Better Is Possible campaign is done by many United Way organizations across Canada.
“With increasing challenges, more and more families are struggling. Life has become so hard for so many. Honestly, there are times when you think it's almost too overwhelming or too big of a problem or too entrenched to overcome it, but we realize we can't succumb to that. We have to rise to the challenge and ask ourselves what more can we do?
“We firmly believe that better is possible. It requires everyone coming together, doing their part, stepping up. It might be an amazing three-year partnership like we’re doing with Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. and it might be something as simple as a restaurant participating in Novemburger.”
It feels amazing to see all of the support for local organizations, Brulé said.
“We know that no one organization can do this alone. It takes a community. It takes all of us coming together, whether we're individual supporters, business supporters, workplaces, service clubs, government partners, all of us doing what we can, working collaboratively to address those issues.
“That's how we make change possible by working as one. And so that's when you think about it, the United Way is the idea of uniting diverse groups to tackle these problems. That's what Better Is Possible will do for our community, and we look forward to hopefully everyone being a part of it in some way, shape, or form,” Brulé said.
The SMASH Lager is available at the Sleeping Giant retail store at 712 Macdonell Street and on their website.
It costs $3.50 per can, $20.40 for a 6-pack and $81.60 for a 24-pack, with all profits going to address poverty and uplift those in need across the community.
