One makes beer. The other helps the needy. Together, they have a new idea to help the community.

Reach Out Lakota will soon be able to pour on more help for the needy through a new partnership with DogBerry Brewing in West Chester Twp.

Starting in April — and hopefully quarterly thereafter — DogBerry will distill a new Reach Out Lakota-themed brew, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Lakota food pantry.

Peyton Gravely, CEO and executive director for Reach Out Lakota, said this fundraising opportunity is sustainable and timely all at once.

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“New England IPAs are all the rage right now in the beer world so it was almost a no-brainer to go in that direction…,” Gravely said. “As long as they have it on tap it’s going to support Reach Out Lakota, as long as they make it it’ll support Reach Out Lakota. I was thinking a one-off, but when we met them, they saw this as being a multi-term project.”

He said the fundraising itself is helpful, but the notoriety that the themed beers will bring Reach Out Lakota will help put the organization in the limelight.

Tony Meyer, co-owner of DogBerry, said it is still working out details in advance of the April 7 release celebration. It will decide things like what kind of beer to make, how to name a “themed” beer and how the donation of proceeds from those kegs will be calculated. He said the group will probably brew seasonal beers for the special product.

“It was sort of a natural,” he said. “Peyton reached out to us about it. They’re looking for more community involvement in what they do. It’s a great way to bring some awareness to their program and what they are doing, to folks who may not realize otherwise they are a part of our community or that what they do is such a big need.”

MORE: Lakota food drive sets record

The Reach Out Lakota food pantry is entering its 26th year helping the needy in Liberty and West Chester townships. The pantry provides all manner of support, not just sustenance, including clothes, personnel items, paper cleaning items and housewares It also has special programs for Back to School, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Director Emeritus Lourdes Ward told this news organization previously that the most important thing for people in need to know is that the pantry isn’t just for people typically thought of as clients of a food pantry. She said they have people from gated communities who have fallen on hard times due to divorce or illness or “some sudden change in their circumstances,” and everyone is welcome.

“We help people from all income levels who are having trouble meeting their basic needs for their family,” she said. “It’s not a hand-out. They are people just like you and me … People still walk up to me and say where do you get ‘those’ people, and that bristles. They are not ‘those’ people. People say, ‘oh the poor people.’ That’s not a reasonable term to use to refer to the families we serve.”

DogBerry Brewing is located at 9964 Crescent Park Drive in West Chester.

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