Announcing Our New Ongoing Charity Drive: RMHC-CNI

At Riverlands, we’ve done our best over the past three years of operation to give back to our Tri-Cities communities and charities that hold a special place in our hearts. Through food and clothing drives, school supply programs and head shaving events for pediatric cancer research, we’ve found unique and fun ways to raise awareness and funds for various causes.

Recently, we asked ourselves…what’s a way we can give back on a daily basis over an extended period of time? The answer: COLLECTING CAN TABS FOR RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE CHARITIES OF CHICAGOLAND & NORTHWEST INDIANA.

For those who don’t know, RMHC-CNI provides “Housing, Support, and Community So Families with Sick Children Can Stay Together.”

WHY COLLECT CAN TABS? Several reasons:

• It’s something simple we can all do.

• It’s something we have PLENTY of access to.

• It supports our company values of continuously becoming better stewards of the environment.

• It helps support a GREAT and LOCAL cause by raising funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana.

All collected tabs will be donated to RMHC-CNI. In turn, their partner United Scrap Metal buys the tabs at the current market value of aluminum and make an additional charitable contribution as well.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Simple.

• At the taproom: Order a can pour! We’ll immediately pull off and donate your can tab when you finish your beer.

• At home and abroad: Start pulling can tabs off your cans, rinse and collect them. Once you have a full container (zip lock bag, small box, shoe box, whatever!) , bring them to our taproom where they’ll be added to our collection vase.

• Once we’ve gathered a sizable donation, we’ll weigh and turn them in!

OUR GOAL: Collect a million tabs (789.27 pounds!) and become a member of the Thanks-A-Million Program. With your help, we can do it! Start collecting tabs today and turn them in when you visit us.

A Heartfelt THANK YOU for our Successful St. Baldrick's Event

Last year, March 2021, a new tradition was started at our brewery in St. Charles: our annual St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser and head shaving event. It was a great success, and we decided immediately to continue holding this event for the foreseeable future.

Fast forward to this year and we find ourselves once again humbled by the outpouring of support for this year’s fundraiser. With just seven participants signed up to be shaved, we were still able to not just meet, but CRUSH $10,000 goal. Total online and cash donations have now exceeded $11,000 dollars and counting.

One thing is for sure…one participant has gone above and beyond the call of duty at our event both years, and despite his currently tiny stature, his big heart has virtually carried our events! Sam Welch lost his cousin, Emma, to childhood cancer a few years back, and ever since, he has shaved his head once per year to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research in her name. We couldn’t be more honored to host Sam again this year and watch him smash the “competition” with well over $6,200 in donations! Not to mention his amazing family who came out in high numbers to support our event!

Thank you, Sam, as well as ALL of our shavees (Michael Dotson, Derek Weber, Matt Milligan, JD Orlicz, Eric Blackburn, Jeremy Teel, , for inspiring us again this year and helping us reach our fundraising goal!

Although our goal has been met, we’re STILL collecting donations of either cash at the taproom or virtually through the St. Baldrick’s event site until the end of March. Be a hero, like Sam and our other shavees, without harming a hair on your head. Donate today.

Not Pictured, But Also Awesome: Eric Blackburn, Jeremy Teel

The Women's EmPORTERment Project

At our brewery in St. Charles, we’ve been lucky enough to find ourselves surrounded by a strong group of women, some who are employed here, and others who support us at home and behind the scenes.

This year for International Women’s Day, many of these ladies gathered to brew a beer of their own design to raise awareness for the local St. Charles/Geneva/Batavia branch of Zonta International. With their objectives of “improving the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women at the global and local level through service and advocacy,” Zonta’s ideals align heavily with ours at Riverlands.

The result of our women’s brew day releases this Friday, April 23. Women’s EmPORTERment is an American porter brewed with toffee, almond, and cacao nibs. At 7.2% ABV, this rich, chocolaty porter is our homage to the Heath brand candy bar, and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Once canning is complete on 4/23, 4-packs will be available to-go at our St. Charles brewery or available for pre-order and curbside pickup at: bit.ly/riverlands. We’ll also have the beer on draft.

A portion of the profits from each 4-pack and draft sold will go to our local Zonta West club. We hope this humble donation will help empower local women in their daily and professional lives in some way.

Want to get involved? Learn more about donating time, talent, or funds at: https://www.zontawest-sgb.org/donate.