When we decided to take this giant leap of faith to open Trek Brewing Company, one of the first things that John and I talked about was that we wanted to be a driving force for good in our community. As we drafted our business plan we kept that ideal at the heart of what Trek is all about. You can find it front and center on our webpage: “At Trek we believe great people and great beer come together to do incredible things. We’re committed to producing exceptional beers and supporting our community in our family-friendly taproom.” We’ve talked long and often about building up our community by creating Trek to be a third place. We’ve described our vision about the triple bottom line. We’ve launched a Trek Together program on our website, and are working to incorporate events into our taproom. And, as of this week, we’ve officially begun a year long journey with Habitat for Humanity.

The House That Beer Built is a collaboration between several amazing Columbus area craft breweries and Habitat for Humanity. The idea is that the funds for this home will come completely from craft brewery related fundraisers. This first home will be built in Franklin County, and there are talks about expanding to Licking County in subsequent years.

The House That Beer Built is not a new concept. The very first “House That Beer Built” originated in Fort Collins Colorado in 2012. Now, there are multiple craft brewing communities throughout the country that participate in crafting hope and homes for families in need in their own communities.

The Mid-Ohio Habitat for Humanity builds and restores homes in the Greater Columbus Metro Area. Families are selected to receive homes based on  three criteria: their level of need, their willingness to work with Habitat, and their ability to pay a mortgage through an affordable payment plan. As part of their willingness to partner with Habitat, families put in hundreds of hours of “sweat equity” into building their own homes.

Trek Brewing Company is truly excited to be a part of this awesome collaboration. The spirit of caring for our own communities is something that runs deep with craft brewers, and it was more than evident in our meeting last night. We’re happy to partner alongside Columbus area great breweries and we’re all hoping to expand that list to more breweries in the area as well!

Throughout the year we’ll host several events that will support this project. Last night we committed to raising $2,500 over the next year to fund this project. We’re positive that with your help we’ll smash through that goal quickly.

We realize that we’re truly fortunate to be able to chase our dreams, and it is John and my greatest hope to be able to inspire others to chase theirs as well. If Trek Brewing Company can be a force for good in our community, than we’ll have accomplished what we’ve set out to do.

We hope to see you this weekend! We’re open Friday 3-10pm (Moe’s BBQ will be out front for dinner) and Saturday noon-10pm (Rockin Rolls will be out front for dinner). Can’t wait to see you across the bar!

Cheers friends!