Fueled By Faith, Hope and Legacy of Hops
Serendipity is defined as:
“The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy and beneficial way.”
It was a typical afternoon in the spring of 2021, amidst the midday madness of on the job multitasking when Bill’s phone rang just as it had hundreds of times before. Assigned with the title of Philadelphia area sales representative for Workhorse Brewery, Bill Miller proceeded to greet the unexpected caller in his usual pleasant and professional tone. On the other end of the line, an invitation to attend a meeting of the minds awaited Bill, delivered to him by Doug Gardner, VP of Sales at Workhorse Brewery. Coffee, conversation, and potential collaboration lay on the table with Philadelphia area non-profit organization Legacy of Hope, as to be discussed with President & CEO Mike Rowe and VP Gina Mancuso. Being a seasoned brand ambassador for quality craft beer, Bill was no stranger to meetings such as this…or so he thought.
In the days leading up to the meeting, Bill proactively researched the history and mission of Legacy of Hope in preparation for conversations to come. A mission boldly stating that “No family should lose their home or go without food because a loved one is fighting cancer and no promising cancer research should go unfunded”. Admittedly Bill tells me, “Prior to this meeting, I was not familiar with Legacy of Hope, but their mission really hit home for me and I was excited about taking that meeting”.
The day of the meeting had soon arrived, and with hot coffees in hand, a serious session of brainstorming ensued. The meeting was orchestrated on behalf of Legacy of Hope by VP Gina Mancuso in tandem with CEO Mike Rowe. Leading with excitement, they pitched their search for an enthusiastic team of expert brewers, who could help create a quality “feel good” product for the community, with a portion of proceeds returning as a direct contribution to Legacy of Hope’s Emergency Patient Support Network. As defined by Legacy of Hope, the emergency patient support network helps to supply Philadelphia cancer patients and their families with much needed help to eliminate arising hardships while receiving treatment for cancer. The help provided to patients & families in need includes but is not limited to: emergent financial support to assist in the prevention of utility shut off, eviction & foreclosure as well as the delivery of healthy fresh groceries to those faced with food insecurity.
Located in King of Prussia and specializing in small batch brewing, Workhorse Brewery pride their business on “Beer Made Right”. Built within the forefront of the Workhorse mantra is knowing that “successful brands are able to create meaningful connections to their customers.” It only seemed fitting that this was indeed the karmic collaboration Legacy of Hope had been searching for, and even more so serendipitously for Bill Miller than he could have ever initially imagined.