There is perhaps no better way to spend a summertime Saturday afternoon than sampling some of the best micro-brews available. Unless, of course, you can support a terrific organization while you imbibe. For the VNA of Northwest Indiana, that’s exactly what they had in mind for their first-ever Hops for Hospice event, held this weekend at the Porter County Expo Center.
For Bob Franko, CEO of the VNA of Northwest Indiana, it was an event literally years in the making.
“We’ve been planning this event for quite some time now but, due to unforeseen circumstances last year, we were not able to do it last summer, so this is our inaugural Hops for Hospice event.”
Franko said that the event was important to the VNA for a number of reasons.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do is engage with a younger demographic,” said Franko. “We want people to understand that we have several service lines at the VNA. We’re more than just hospice care – we also provide palliative care and we serve as the Meals on Wheels provider for all of Porter County. We also have the Phoenix Center Program, which is a program to help kids with grieving the loss of loved ones and we offer a life alert program.”
Altogether, Franko says that the VNA of Northwest Indiana serves over 600 people a day.
“I think we’re a hidden secret here in Porter County, and we’d like to change that,” Franko said. “With everything that we’ve all been through over these last 18 months, we feel that this is just a great way for everybody to get together, take a breath, and celebrate being together again as a community.”
Featuring specialty beers from over a dozen of the finest local breweries, Hops for Hospice was a huge success, with local citizens turning out in droves to mingle and sample a wide variety of brews. Local band Chris and Lou were on hand to lay down some tunes to set the mood, while attendees were invited to enter in several raffles for fun prizes, including a bicycle, jacket, and more. Tickets to the event were just $50 per person for four hours of unlimited tasting, with proceeds going to support VNA programs.
The event was made possible due to the generous support and cooperation from several local businesses, including Indiana Beverage, Urschel Laboratories, Chesterton Brewery, and many others.
“We’re very happy to support veteran-based charities, local heroes such as first responders, and more,” said Vern Brown, owner of Chesterton Brewery. “Bob (Franko) sent me an email and we set up a time to talk. I learned more about the VNA and what they do and instantly decided that we wanted to be on board. The VNA takes care of a lot of people, but it was their efforts to support our veterans that really touched me.”
Brown was impressed by the crowd that turned out to support the VNA.
“We had a really great turn-out for the first year of a new event. People are here having a great time and they’re going to take these memories home with them,” said Brown.
“The VNA hospice program helped to take care of my uncle,” said Valparaiso resident Kelly Goodan. “They were absolutely amazing. They are heroes and they’ll always have a special place in my heart.”
For more information about the VNA of Northwest Indiana, visit them online at https://www.vnanwi.org/
