Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of people ask how they can get involved with supporting non-profits, while meeting people at the same time. “Wouldn’t it be great to belong to a group that organizes a variety of instrumental supportive events, that has a strong social component at the same time?”
Well, there is now a group that people can join that is not only empowering, it’s also socially engaging. The fledgling group is called “Pints for a Purpose.”
“Recently a few friends and I founded an organization called ‘Pints for a Purpose,’” wrote co-organizer Lee Huber. “The essence of our mission is to serve as an organization putting together volunteering events throughout the Buffalo community which are followed by happy hours at local bars and restaurants. We would like to empower local nonprofits through service, local bars through patronage, and the community by bringing like-minded individuals together. There is strength in numbers and it’d mean a lot to our city if people join in the effort!”
The ultimate goal is three-fold:
- Help empower local organizations/non-profits/anyone in need by creating a ‘community day’ of volunteers. There’s a bevy of organizations in our community operating under razor thin budgets and neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and decades of under-investment. They can use as many volunteers as they can get.
- We are working through establishing some exciting partnerships with local bars and restaurants. Each volunteer event will be followed by a happy hour at a local haunt with either drink deals for volunteers, a portion of the proceeds donated to organizations we support, or both. COVID has obviously presented a monumental challenge to bars and restaurants, so the power of a large group of people patronizing a local business for an afternoon can’t be understated.
- Buffalo can be an insular place and intimidating for people new to the city. There has become an interesting mix of lifelong Buffalonians and young transplants in the city. Breaking into the well-defined social circles of Buffalo lifers can seem difficult and awkward. We hope to provide a conduit for the expansion of these social circles. Plus, it’ll be a good thing to reconnect with old friends after a year of limited interactions. And there will be beer — who doesn’t like beer?
These are three solid points, and an overall selfless cause that I’m sure a lot of people will get behind. More often than not, fundraising efforts fall on the shoulders of the non-profits, which are already stretched thin.
Pints for a Purpose is a fun and social way to make a big impact in Buffalo, by helping worthy organizations that could always use an extra hand.
That said, be sure to follow the group on social media, and attend one of their upcoming events, starting with…
Volunteering at Journey’s End Refugee Services
Neighborhood cleanup
May 22, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Brewster Street Farm, 36 Brewster St, Buffalo, NY 14214
Followed by a happy hour at Duende, with proceeds supporting Journey’s End
Saturday, May 22nd @ 3PM
Duende, 85 Silo City Row, Buffalo, NY 14203
Instagram @PintsForAPurposeBuffalo
Register for each of these events at www.pintsforapurpose.com
Lead image – photo by Elevate