Let’s Run for a Good Cause

Do you remember our good friend Tyrone Irby, from Together We Stand NC? We highlighted the amazing work he’s doing with his organization, which stages peaceful demonstrations. We’re so excited he asked us to be Charlotte’s host to the very first Unity 5K along with fellow North Carolina breweries at Foothills Brewing, Little Brother Brewing, Ponysaurus Brewing Company & Vecino Brewing Co! This social run or walk will take place on Saturday, July 17, 2021 at 11:00am. Registration is just $20, and includes a comfortable Together We Stand NC t-shirt to commemorate this amazing event! You might be wondering what the point of the Unity 5K is, so let’s not waste anymore time and really get to what this race stands for!

So What’s The Unity 5K?

Tyrone has designated July 17th as a day for contemplation and conversation. The Unity 5K is meant to be a peaceful demonstration with open conversation about the inequities and systematic racism people of color face every day. Tyrone says it best, “the best conversations are had over a delicious beer,” and we couldn’t agree more! Breweries should be safe spaces for all, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. We are seeing, especially in recent days, that our industry is far from perfect. Our industry has a long ways to go in truly making for a safe, fair and equitable space for all. We hope with days like July 17th help us inch closer towards that goal. We will also be raising money for our dear friends at Neighborhood Hope! We’re donating half of all registration fees to this amazing organization. They are serving some of Charlotte’s underserved communities. How do they serve those communities? Well, let’s get into a bit more about Neighborhood Hope!

We’re Raising Money Too!

We are so excited to be able to work with our friends at Neighborhood Hope again! You might remember them as The Abandon Project, and we were lucky enough to partner with them previously on fundraisers and food/supply drives during the pandemic. We felt like they were the perfect partner because they’re doing such wonderful work in our Charlotte community. Instead of trying to describe in my own words what Neighborhood Hope does for our community, I’ll share some of their own words. “In the city of Charlotte, not even 1 out of 10 people who start out in poverty, will ever escape it. This means Charlotte is the worst city in the nation in that category. What does that mean to us at Neighborhood Hope? The neighborhoods we call family, that we have been developing relationships in for the past 8 years, are labeled as low income housing, which means these beautiful people are included in that alarming statistic of a lack of upward mobility. To be able to look into their faces knowing the odds are stacked against them, does not settle well with us. We want to be part of the solution in seeing hope come to life, and see these negative cycles broken. No one organization can take this challenge on their back, the narrative can only change when everyone does their part. When different ethnicities and socio-economic classes come together to do life & become family, change will happen. We believe in community mentoring. Mentoring can have a powerful effect on the narrative of the child’s life, their family members, and the mentor.” See… I don’t think we could’ve picked a more perfect partner for this race!

Together We Stand NC

We couldn’t be more glad we got to meet Tyrone in 2020 during the Black is Beautiful initiative! He and his wonderful wife, Crystal, came in to try our version of the beer. We struck up a conversation that has since grown into friendship! His organization had already started so many important conversations, but again, I’ll use his own words about what Together We Stand NC represents. “Together We Stand (TWS) NC is a Durham-based organization dedicated to protesting social and racial injustices against people of color in America. Founded in June 2020, TWS seeks to lend its voice to discussions of race relations in North Carolina through wearables, podcasts, and community events. As our community continues to grow in awareness and activism against persistent racial inequities, we must continue to come together to be authentic.” We can’t begin to tell you how glad we are to have become friends with Tyrone!

More In Store Too!

Don’t think we’re even close to done with announcements for the race just yet! We’re still two months out, and we’re planning on adding some more ways to accentuate the day! You will definitely see Divine Barrel Brewing donating a portion of proceeds from taproom sales for the day to our friends at Neighborhood Hope! They’ll be here participating with us for The Unity 5K, and will have a table set up in the taproom to show you more about their amazing organization. We are going to brew a special small batch beer brewed just for the occasion too! Again, we truly hope you’ll consider joining us for a social workout and chat over good beer on July 17th! Registrations are live right now, so make sure to hit the link below.

Registration Link: bit.ly/unity5kregister

Spotify Playlist Heat

Well, I decided I couldn’t hold out anymore. I’ve been waiting for the right time to drop a dirty funk and soul playlist on y’all. There is no musical genre that I love more, and makes me want to move my body more than funk and soul, so you can use this one as a training playlist. To honor the spirit of The Unity 5K, I have accumulated a really fun playlist of music from artists all over the world. I hope you enjoy!

Spotify Playlist: Unity 5K Training Playlist