For the past 55 years, VNA Hospice NWI has provided high quality, non-profit, end-of-life care for patients in Lake, La Porte, Jasper, Newton, Porter, and Starke counties. One of the biggest ways the organization is able to provide support for patients and their families regardless of their ability to pay, is through fundraising events like the Hops for Hospice Brewfest event. On Saturday, June 28th, the annual event made a return at the Porter County Expo Center.
Hops for Hospice is the biggest fundraiser of the year for VNA Hospice NWI which helps provide compassionate, non-profit care for people as they approach the end-of-life stages. This year marks the fifth annual celebration of the event. Bob Franko, CEO of VNA Hospice NWI, believes this fundraiser gathering is a way for them to reach out to many young and middle-aged adults.
“This has been our biggest fundraiser for the past five years, and we love doing it every time,” Franko said. “The real purpose of Hops for Hospice is the people that come to it. It’s a demographic that we really want to connect with. Most of the people who come to this event are between the ages of 25 and 50. That’s a generation of people making a lot of decisions as caregivers for moms, dads, grandparents, and siblings. We want to connect with people that may have needs that we can assist them with.”
The event ran from 12-4 p.m. Visitors were able to taste more than 100 of the newest beers, wine, cider, seltzers and ready to drink cocktails, from the local craft scene as well as national breweries.
All throughout the Porter County Expo Center, tables were set up with an opportunity for people to try unique samples. There was a combination of 18 local breweries plus fan favorites distributed by Indiana Beverage.
“We’ve served here for five years, and this is our first time catering,” said Erica Hemphill, owner and head chef of 10-56 Brewing. “It started out pretty mellow that first year, and every year they get more attendees. The music gets better and louder, and you can kind of feel the diversity increasing with all the different vendors out here.”
The goal of the event is to raise between $30,000 to $40,000 each year to support accessible and compassionate, non-profit end-of-life care for patients in Northwest Indiana. Services such as Hospice Care, Palliative Care with remote patient monitoring, the Medical Guardian Help Button, and the Phoenix Center for Grief are only possible due to the generous donations that the VNA Hospice NWI receives from the community.
“Every year, we subsidize nearly $1 million in care, reduced rates, and write-offs for people that can’t otherwise afford our services,” Franko said. “Whether it’s hospice or Meals on Wheels, which we are now partnering with Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana to distribute, we provide our services regardless of someone's ability to pay. What it really does is it sets us up for success in everything else that we do.”
This year’s event included more than 43 breweries and 29 sponsors that contributed to Hops for Hospice. Every year, the VNA Hospice NWI is motivated to grow this event, and it’s not possible without the collaboration and commitment of so many organizations in the community.
“I feel like we’re starting to get pretty good with this event,” Franko said. “There are still things that we can always improve on, but it’s always about elevating the event. Connecting with more people and creating more sponsorship opportunities, that allows us to be a part of something bigger. We can’t do this without our sponsors and our donors.”
This isn’t only a benefit for the VNA Hospice NWI, but many of the brewing companies in attendance enjoy being surrounded by peers in the same industry and learning about what they have to offer at this event.
“A lot of people think that, as brewers, we all compete with each other,” Hemphill said. “It’s really not like that. We all collaborate. We all work together. Not only are we serving different products all-around, but it feels like a family in this room.
One vendor at the event was Ironwood Brewing. Barb Kehe, owner and brewer, is grateful to share this space with so many people who want to have a fun time all while supporting the VNA Hospice NWI.
“I’ve been at this event since it first started,” Kehe said. “I always love supporting the only non-profit hospice organization that we have here in Northwest Indiana.”
Attendees at the event were able to engage in a variety of activities such as a raffle, silent auction, food samples, and more. The event also included unlimited samples of beer, wine, cider, seltzer, ready to drink cocktails and a variety of non-alcoholic drinks. Food for the event was provided by 10-56 Brewing and was included in every ticket. Live music by the Crawpuppies, along with family fun activities such as cornhole and giant connect four, kept the attendees entertained throughout the entire night.
“If you can do something for a good cause that raises money, and you’re able to have fun doing it, then it instantly becomes a win-win situation for everyone,” Franko said. “For us to have an event like this where people can come and learn about us from it, especially in a safe place like this, makes the event that much more awesome.”
For more information on the VNA Hospice NWI, you can visit vnanwi.org.
