As avid craft beer drinkers, we splurge on beer…a lot. It’s smart really. Beer is an affordable luxury! You can enjoy the best beer in the world for 3-4 bucks per can or even $15-20 per 6-pack! Four dollars might get you a thimble of world-class wine…maybe.
We were mid-pint in some world class beer when our good friend invited us to join Team Craft Beer for the Closer to Free Ride. It seemed like a great way to give back, exercise, spend time with fellow beer lovers and – of course – reward our hard work with a delicious craft beer!
The Big Donor Myth
While many folks were enthusiastic about the cause, they often felt they didn’t have enough spare cash to donate. Not because they were stingy (I don’t think) but they somehow got the idea a donation had to be big – like hundreds or thousands of dollars - to make an impact. A $10 or $20 donation is great. Every bit counts! The message is so cliche it seldom got thru.
Beer as Currency
Then a fellow fundraiser suggested we use beer as currency. What if we urged our fellow beer enthusiasts to redirect one 6-pack of beer money from our budget to support patient care at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. In light of that, skipping a 6-pack doesn’t seem so bad. Yet somehow, what used to seem like an inconsequential amount of money suddenly seems like a reasonable donation.
Now, I’m not saying you should give all your money away. This isn’t a guilt trip. You’re not a bad person if you don’t participate. But for me, putting it into beer units made it less open-ended. “Would you consider donating a 6-pack to a great cause?” somehow makes it easier to ahem swallow.
If you or your loved ones have been impacted by Cancer please consider a donation to anyone on the Team Craft Beer Roster – you can donate until the end of September.
Donate & Share!
If you do donate, please share a photo on social media of your haul minus a 6-pack or get creative and take some photos of you and your friends drinking without your 6-pack. Or you can use the “I gave my beer money…” image above with the donation link teamcraftbeer.org/6pack and the hashtag #beer4free and help us get a 6-pack Closer to Free!