Wasserhund Brewing Co. Brings the Community Together through Good Beer and Great Causes

#NiceWork! After taking a trip to Germany, the owners of Wasserhund Brewing Co. turned their passion for good times, great people, and German beer culture into an opportunity to serve the community in Virginia Beach.

Before opening Wasserhund, owners Aaron and Christine Holley spent five years in Northern Virginia where Aaron was on active duty in the US Navy and Christine was an engineer in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Now, Aaron and Christine are all about serving their hometown. “My husband and I opened our business back in the community that we both went to high school in. We knew that we wanted to raise our family here and build our business. Being good stewards of the community is important to how we live our life,” Christine explained to Envision Kindness. The couple has turned their passion for bringing people together into their life’s purpose.

Wasserhund Brewing Company is committed to making the Virginia Beach community stronger, closer, and better supported. One of their primary avenues of support comes in their financial donations. The brewery donates 5% of each month’s revenue to a cause chosen by a customer. August’s cause of the month was dedicated to the ALS Association whose works to “discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest.” As of September 2017, Wasserhund has contributed $76,197 since its opening to a wide variety of locally impacting charities.

Alongside their financial contributions, Wasserhund Brewing Co. donates time and resources to events centered around charitable and community organizations. A portion of proceeds from these events also go to support the groups. One such event, the Beer, Dogs, and Veterans festival, benefited the nonprofit Dogs on Deployment in its efforts to care for the pets of those who have been deployed. The brewery has also supported groups like Lady’s Grace, a nonprofit dedicated to helping military families, by hosting the Hampton Roads BBQ Wars and VB Jaycees, a group that provides development opportunities to young people, by hosting an Anti-Valentine’s Day event.

If you are in the Virginia Beach area and want to support the cause of the month and have a taste of German beer culture step on into Wasserhund Brewing Co. To learn more about their contributions and upcoming events visit their Website, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages!

Take time to discover your passion and use it to create a kinder world.

Kaladi Brings Good Feels and Close Community to Alaskans

#NiceWork! Born as an espresso cart in 1986, Kaladi Brothers Coffee has grown to be a staple of Alaska. Today, Kaladi has fourteen locations across the State and one in Seattle, and they produce almost a million pounds of coffee every year.

How did they do it? On top of roasting and brewing fantastic organic beans, Kaladi cares about its customers. Former owner Mark Overly explained to the Alaska Dispatch News that, “[The community aspect] was [always] the intention of the business…And [we knew that] everything would follow that.” As a “catalyst of community,” the shop is incredibly dedicated to supporting and growing the communities they serve.

Kaladi sponsors countless community events, drives, and causes. By teaming up with other local businesses and nonprofits, Kaladi is able to put on incredibly fun and generous events to benefit Alaskans. One such event was for a launch party for Read on the Fly. The event, sponsored and hosted by Kaladi, called on community members to donate children’s books. They turned this donation drive into a party for the whole community along with free hot dogs provided by Phat Kid Food Truck and a craft station put up by the Anchorage Community House.

Kaladi is incredibly generous in its coffee and gift donations. From offering free coffee for moms on Mother’s Day to donating gift baskets to local drives and auctions, Kaladi is constantly finding new avenues to give their support. They’ve donated money to the University of Alaska Anchorage Debate Team and the Anchorage Running Club. Kaladi’s marketing team estimates that Kaladi supports around 250 events per year. Along with the work of their Community Cafe and other donations, this comes out to about $150,000 in donations every year.

Across Alaska, Kaladi is famous for their Community Cafe. This cafe-on-wheels travels around the state to spread its warmth. They’ve been there to meet parents with a free 12 oz cup of coffee when dropping off kids at their first day of school or to provide free espresso at the Pride Parade and at events for the Anchorage Motorcycling Community. No matter the gathering, Kaladi shows generosity to all community members. By using the hashtag #FollowTheRedGoat, inspired by their Red Goat logo, Kaladi has gained huge popularity across Alaska. When the Red Goat comes, everyone knows that warmth and community come along with it.

Kaladi is also famous for bringing the community together in their open and shared community spaces. Spaces are used for just about everything, from family gathering and group meetings to art shows like Susitna Elementary Student Art Show. They currently have 3 large community spaces at their Brayton, Downtown and Soldotna/Sterling Highway locations.

Kaladi support groups like the Cook Inlet Tribal Council. They provided the coffee for their Native Youth Olympics and they purchase wholesale goods, such as sandwiches and baked goods, from their Chanlyut program. The program gives residential, vocational, and educational support for participants to overcome challenges such as reintegration post incarceration, addiction, and homelessness.

“Kaladi is an industry leader when it comes to coffee, community and customer experience,” customer Seth Stetson said.

So, if you ever find yourself up North, drop on in to enjoy a cup of joe at Kaladi. Your dollar supports a company that works to support you.

Great Harvest Bread Warms the Hearts of Anchorage Residents

#NiceWork! Great Harvest Bread in Anchorage, Alaska  does phenomenal business. For the past several years, it’s held the top spot in sales for restaurants in Anchorage. But their success can’t simply be explained by their infamously fresh and organic bread. Anchorage owners Barb Hood and Dirk Sisso believe that 90% of sales are due to the restaurant’s connection with the local community. Anchorage residents know that a purchase at Great Harvest Bread is a purchase that supports Anchorage.

Great Harvest Bread, a franchise, with over 100 locations throughout the United States is unique.  The company doesn’t solely focus on profits. In fact, the company’s tops priorities, aside from making delicious bread, are freedom and people. The parent company encourages each individual branch to do what’s best for their location and connect to their customers in a unique and personalized way. That’s why to many Anchorage residents, Great Harvest feels like home.

Ever since the Barb and Dirk opened shop in 1994, they’ve been a community favorite. They’re probably most well known for their generosity of spirit. As Bonnie Harry, an employee of Great Harvest, explained, “It’s not for show. They do it because generosity to others is part of who they are. The fact that it benefits the business is a bonus.”

Barb and Dirk’s generosity radiates through Great Harvest. They’re frequent donors, and they let the community choose where a large portion of their donations go by encouraging Anchorage residents to submit requests to support local events. Over the years, they’ve supported hundreds of events including annual fundraisers for Breast Cancer and Leukemia research. The restaurant is also an official partner with three schools: West High School, Romig Middle School and North Star Elementary, where they support school events with bread and cookies.

Great Harvest may be most famous for their exceptionally large free samples. When speaking with Envision Kindness, Barb explained an instance in which a young girl came to the counter to get a free sample. She returned again a few minutes later to get another. When Barb saw this, she encouraged the girl to bring a third piece back to her mother. Upon hearing this, the mother burst into tears. “You never know where people are coming from,” Barb explained. “So, you just try to do your best.” Two families have even come up to Barb to tell her how important this free bread has been to them during tough times over the years. Great Harvest also donates unsold items to the local food bank, Beanz Café, each day.

Barb and Dirk even lend out their restaurant’s space. They have made their shop into a community center, helping local artists display their work and hosting open mic nights for poets, musicians, and others.  This personalized engagement with customers and customer values has allowed Great Harvest to become a cornerstone in the community.

Outside of Great Harvest, Barb is known for taking pictures of underrepresented populations and telling their stories. Dirk is currently serving as president of the local neighborhood Basher Community Council, working to protect natural places among other things. Dirk carries his interest in environmental protection to the bakery. Great Harvest has received Green Star’s award for environmental responsibility, a shining example of an eco-friendly business.

Inspired by Barb and Dirk’s Great Harvest in Anchorage? No need to fly to Alaska. Check out what your local Great Harvest is up to these days. No Great Harvests near you? Think about what can you can do to be help others in your community.

Southern Connecticut Wine Company is Crushing Grapes and Creating a Better World

#NiceWork! Amanda Brackett, owner and founder of Southern Connecticut Wine Company in Wallingford, CT, creates some of the most interesting wines on the East Coast (try their blends).  But when you meet Amanda, you’ll notice that she loves more than a good Merlot: she loves people. She’s made her company into a force for social good. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a small-business this active in their community, this generous, and this fun to be around.

A Monterey Peninsula, CA native, Amanda loves making wine. “Making it keeps me creative, correcting faults keeps me learning and innovative, drinking it keeps me social and selling it keeps my husband happy,” she explained (My Record Journal). That passion, combined with an amazing team of all women, is leading this business to success. Southern Connecticut Wine Company is entirely owned and operated by females. They frequently use the hashtag, #girlsmakewinetoo. Amanda´s passion for female empowerment doesn’t end there – she´s a member of the the Killingworth Women’s organization too.

When she isn’t crushing grapes, Amanda is also involved in an enormous number of causes. As her business is growing, so is it’s list of charitable donations. Inspired by her husband, a veteran who was deployed the first year of their marriage in Kuwait, she serves as Chairperson of the Soldiers Box initiative, a program that sends local soldiers care packages while they are deployed. Southern Connecticut Wine Company also offers discounts to veterans, active duty service personnel and first responders.

The winery has given thousands of dollars to charity through donations including barrels of wine, winemaking classes and wine baskets to non-profits including: JDRF, Channel 3 Kids Camp, Make a Wish, Helo Haiti, Killingworth Refugee Resettlement Coalitions, Middletown Cooperative Preschools, and more. Amanda supports causes both in her neighborhood and abroad. If she hears about a group that needs assistance, she’s quick to jump in to help. Those closest to Amanda explain that she donates to so many groups, and so often, that it’s hard to keep track of them all. She’s also known to donate her space free of charge to a number of non-profits.

Want to support Amanda and SoConnWineCo.?  Stop by for a tour! And stay tuned – their online store will be up soon: http://soconnwineco.com/