By Amanda Taitel
Green Alliance Writer
PORTSMOUTH-In the beginning of 2013, the Redhook Ale Brewery kicked off their community give-back program. The program was designed to help local nonprofits raise extra funds and give them the opportunity to increase awareness of their cause. For the year of 2013, the brewery donated ten percent of its total restaurant sales on Tuesdays to various local charities, choosing one charity for each month of 2013. A year and a half later, the program is still going strong.
The goal of the program was to build relationships with local charities so that the brewery and the local community have more opportunities to give back. The requisites of the program were that the charities were local and meaningful to the brewery so that the program could have the most impact to our community. During the month that each charity is represented, they also are given the opportunity to set up a table at the Pub or have someone representing the charity meet with guests or provide information to further increase the opportunity to raise funds and awareness.
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Great Bay Stewards, a conservation organization that focuses its efforts in protecting and preserving the Great Bay Estuary, were the first recipients of the give-back program, earning a $1,500 donation through Redhook’s restaurant sales. Jean Eno, of Great Bay Stewards, had endless praise for Redhook’s Give Back Program.
“I find it incredibly generous for businesses such as Redhook to support the community by reaching out to nonprofits all around them,” said Eno. “It’s great to see a company who could easily limit their fundraising, go above and beyond to help support local groups like us.”
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“The donation from Redhook was over $2,400, which provided much-needed support for our marine conservation programs!” Says Jen Kennedy of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. The Blue Ocean Society was the July recipient of Redhook’s community give-back program and they were more than pleased with the results. “We were really excited about how easy it was to do the fundraiser and the great response we received from our supporters. We commend the folks at Redhook for their commitment to working with and giving back to the local community!”
Great Bay Stewards, Blue Ocean Society, and Redhook are business partners of Green Alliance, a union of local sustainable businesses promoting environmentally sound business practices and a consumer community, offering discounted green products and services to its members.
More nonprofits who benefited from the give-back program include: Habitat for Humanity Restore, The Waterkeeper Program, Seacoast Science Center, New Hampshire Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, New England Organic Farmers Association, York County Shelter Programs, 3S Art Space, and Wild Center of New England.
Great Bay Stewards was, again a recipient for 2014, and in the month of March, Redhook raised $1,400 in donations for the nonprofit organization.
The entire Redhook team is optimistic that the program will continue to grow. “It’s a win/win situation” says interim GM Nick Wright. “The charity brings in extra business each Tuesday and helps to introduce new people to the Pub that might not otherwise think to come here and we can help to boost their budgets so that they can do more and awareness of the cause is increased. And it just feels good.”
For more info about Redhook Brewery, visit www.redhook.com
For the Great Bay Stewards, go to www.greatbaystewards.org
Learn more about the Green Alliance at www.greenalliance.biz
