On the first Wednesday of each month, every draft at Pigskin Bar and Grille benefits community charities and organizations chosen by the members of the Athens Sunrise Rotary, a club focused on supporting and uplifting those locally and globally. A year after the club formed in 2016, it began its monthly Drafts for a Difference, a happy hour dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the chosen organization.
The Athens Sunrise Rotary is affiliated with Rotary International, an organization working to solve local and international problems. The group began in 1905 with the formation of the Rotary Club of Chicago, over time becoming a humanitarian effort providing services and promoting peace worldwide.
Betsy Morley, president of the Athens Sunrise Rotary, said the Drafts for a Difference event is a great way to support multiple charities throughout the year. Many people come and support every month, including the members of the Athens Sunrise Rotary, members from the charity or organization being represented and locals coming for the beer and company.
Morley said meeting at Pigskin is a great way to connect with the Athens Sunrise Rotary, and it gives the club a chance to interact with the organization they’re supporting.
“The Pigskin treats us very well,” Morley said. “They take care of us, and their staff has been very helpful in helping us promote it and support everybody who comes in.”
After the event, the organization meets up with Athens Sunrise Rotary again to have a check presented to them. Athens Sunrise Rotary also takes this time to ask the group how it can further support the cause.
Along with its Drafts for a Difference events, the group meets weekly in Donkey, every Thursday at 7 a.m. It meets for coffee and to socialize, planning next events and going through nominated charities, deciding who to support next. Every spring, it opens nominations on its social media, allowing anyone in the community to nominate an organization or group they think deserves the funding and awareness.
In February, it chose the Athens Food Rescue to support, a volunteer group aiming to reduce food waste and bridge the gap in the Athens food system. To do this, it collects the food discarded by grocery stores and other local donors and donates the items at food pantries in Athens County. Fred Kight, a volunteer for the Athens Food Rescue, said it receives food donations from many establishments. Kight said he recently picked up food from Piggly Wiggly and donated it to United Campus Ministry.
Kight said it relies on donations and the generosity of people, and hopes the funds from the Drafts for a Difference will help support the organization's cause. Kight said there is only one paid employee on the budget, an executive director, and the rest of the group’s savings go toward providing equipment to recipients, like refrigerators and rice cookers.
“We have no funding, solid funding, source grants or anything like that,” Kight said. “It’s just gifts from here, there and everywhere, usually of the small variety. I certainly want to say thank you to the rotary people who are staging this, and to the Pigskin also for hosting it. Community-minded organizations, places like that, are what we have come to rely on, and we appreciate their generosity.”
With these Drafts for a Difference events, the Athens Sunrise Rotary has generated over $40,000 since 2017 for groups in the community. Every Drafts for a Difference event was at the Pigskin, located on 38 N Court St. For every beer sold during the event, the Pigskin donates $1 to the organization, which Athens Sunrise Rotary matches.
The Athens Sunrise Rotary’s contribution to the chosen charity each month is $500 this year, which Morley said can change due to the yearly budget. Morley said Athens Sunrise Rotary worked with the Athens Food Rescue before and was happy to see how it improved and grew since it supported the rescue last.
“They have new space, new opportunities, places to volunteer in different ways that they're growing in different ways,” Morley said. “So it's really cool for us, whether it's an organization we've worked with before, or one that's brand new, to be able to see how they grow and how they change over time.”
Morley said the turnout for this month’s event on Wednesday was great.
Megan Hoersten, a freshman studying journalism, began frequenting the Pigskin with friends after winter break, returning for its quick service and lively atmosphere.
Hoersten said she enjoys the variety of games circulating in the bar, including ping-pong, cornhole and various card games people bring. As for the establishment’s monthly Drafts for a Difference event, Hoersten said it is “amazing” how Pigskin supports and gives back.
“They’re not being greedy about what they do,” Hoersten said. “They get to show that they’re helping Athens and everybody else around us to make the customers want to come support Athens themselves.”
