Local bartenders raise funds for Women of the Bevolution
By Sara Capozzi
A group of Connecticut bartenders recently brought attention to a national effort that formed within the industry by hosting a fundraising event.
Founded by Ash Eliot, Women of the Bevolution is a social enterprise working to make the beverage industry more inclusive for women and nonbinary people on a national level. Eliot undertook the effort in the summer of 2019 after spending about a year in the craft beer industry and realizing that there wasn’t much inclusivity for these communities.
The enterprise has gone on to foster collaboration nationwide and raise funds to help marginalized people in the industry to learn, create community with others and escape from abusive work environments, raising more than $50,000 for nonprofits and grassroots organizations.
MeKayla Roy, Bar Manager, Union Kitchen in West Hartford, learned about Women of the Bevolution and the Brave Noise initiative when she was looking for ways to support women in hospitality, along with her former co-workers Anthony DeVito and Katie Gingras.
The platform has continued to grow with a variety of partnerships in the beverage space. One such alliance, with the Brave Noise global beer collaboration and initiative, was launched in partnership with Brienne Allan. A former Brewer at Notch Brewing and Co-owner and Brewer at Sacred Profane Brewing, Allan is known for sparking a #MeToo moment via her Instagram account, @ratmagnet, which called out experiences with harassment and abuse in the craft beer industry.
“I thought of Brienne [Allan] from Sacred Profane Brewing and all the work she put in bringing forward harassment in the brewing industry,” Roy said. “Through her, I discovered Brave Noise, a global collaborative effort that advocates for inclusive and safe environments for women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ throughout the beer industry. Brienne and Ash launched Brave Noise together in 2021. The money raised for Women of the Bevolution, in part, goes toward the Brave Noise initiative and others that help support these minority groups in hospitality.”
Event organizers Katie Gingras, MeKayla Roy and Anthony DeVito. Photo by Geoff Smith.
Roy, DeVito and Gingras organized a fundraising event at Glastonbury’s Birch Hill Tavern on Jan. 9, where they guest-bartended. Well-attended by the local hospitality industry, friends, family and representatives from several distributors and suppliers, the event raised more than $3,700 for the organization through donations, tips, a raffle and 20% of the night’s sales, which Birch Hill Tavern Owners Jess Cote and Bob Nicholson donated to the cause.
A T-shirt campaign, “AntiSexist AntiRacist ProEquality Beer Club” is among concepts marketed on its website to help bring awareness to the mission and continue to raise funds. Grants, hiring help and tool kits round out offerings that align to help make workplace inclusivity and safety visible and actionable.
While Women of the Bevolution is a national organization, money raised through individual fundraising initiatives such as the Birch Hill Tavern event are used to help people locally, according to Roy. With the success of this first fundraiser, she is looking forward to leading similar benefits for the cause in the future.
“Since doing the Jan. 9 event, several brands want to get on board and take this throughout the state of Connecticut,” Roy said. “I’m grateful that these brands saw why we were doing it and felt so compelled to get behind it to bring more awareness to supporting women in hospitality.” Additional partners include Another Round Another Rally, HRuprise, Empower Law, Under the Jenfluence and Hop Forward Consulting. Learn more at womenofthebevolution.com.
