Pouring It Forward: Our 2025 Charity of the Month Heroes

Every month, the Growler Station at Hoyne transforms into a little hub of hope. When you grab a tasting flight, you’re not just sipping something delicious—you’re showing up for your neighbours. All proceeds from those flights go straight to a local charity doing boots-on-the-ground, heart-in-the-right-place kind of work.

From food security to hospice care to emergency shelter, these are the everyday heroes helping keep our communities strong, safe, and a little more human. Here’s who we’ve supported so far this year—cheers to beer that does good.

JANUARY — Cool Aid Society

Cool Aid is all about dignity—because everyone deserves a safe place to sleep, access to health care, and connection. From permanent housing to dental care, emergency shelter to job help, Cool Aid’s wraparound services help people navigate the tough stuff with compassion and respect.

What started as a hotline back in 1968 is now a cornerstone of Victoria’s social support network. And they don’t just provide services—they meet people where they’re at, practice cultural humility, and commit to anti-racism every step of the way.

FEBRUARY — Shelbourne Community Kitchen

This cozy kitchen in Saanich punches way above its weight. The Shelbourne Community Kitchen blends food security with friendship—offering nutritious groceries, group cooking classes, and garden programs that bring neighbours together.

Their motto? Seed to plate to community. With over 2,000 adults and kids accessing services annually, this place is as much about connection as it is about carrots.

MARCH — Nourish Cowichan

Hungry kids can’t learn. Nourish Cowichan is making sure they don’t have to.

They started by serving breakfast in one school. Now, they’re feeding hundreds of students across the Cowichan and Pacific Rim school districts—daily lunches, snacks, hampers, and culturally appropriate meals for families who need a boost.

Food equity is the mission. No child goes hungry on their watch.

APRIL — LUSH Valley Food Action Society

In the Comox Valley, LUSH Valley is turning local food into community power. With programs like fruit tree gleaning, urban gardening, hot meal distribution, and food education, they’re growing more than produce—they’re growing food resilience.

This grassroots group is helping people learn where food comes from, how to grow it, and how to make it go further. Delicious and revolutionary.

MAY — Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre

The DEWC is a lifeline in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Women (cis and trans) lead the way here—shaping programs, casting votes, and creating safety in a community that’s often overlooked.

They serve 1,000+ meals a day, provide emergency shelter, offer advocacy and cultural programming, and remind every woman who walks through the door: you belong here.

JUNE — Oaklands Community Centre

This neighbourhood hub in Victoria does everything. Seriously.

Markets? Yep. Childcare? Check. Youth programs, drop-in events, classes for every age? All of it. Oaklands is a cornerstone of community life—building connection and belonging from toddler time to senior socials.

They’ve been at it since 1995, and they’ve got over 100 volunteers making it all happen. Not bad for a little community house that could.

JULY — Cycle of Life Tour (Hospice Care)

Two wheels. Two hundred kilometres. One big-hearted cause.

The Cycle of Life Tour is an epic ride supporting hospice care across Vancouver Island. Riders raise funds (and a little sweat) to ensure dignified, compassionate end-of-life care is available when families need it most.

It started with one cyclist and a mission. Now it’s a full-on movement—and every dollar counts.

AUGUST — UVSS Food Bank & Free Store

Life as a student is expensive. Rent, tuition, textbooks—and don’t forget groceries. The UVic Student Society’s Food Bank makes sure nobody has to choose between eating and studying.

Eggs, fresh veggies, milk, canned goods, and even safer sex supplies—it's all there, free and stigma-free. Run by students, for students, with love.

SEPTEMBER — Our Place Society

At Our Place, nobody gets left behind. They serve over 1,400 meals a day, offer housing and health care, and help Victoria’s most vulnerable get back on their feet—with compassion, dignity, and a lot of coffee.

From emergency shelter to recovery programs, this is where hope lives. It's not just a service provider—it’s a community.

OCTOBER — Rainbow Kitchen

Need a hot meal? Rainbow Kitchen’s got you.

Operating out of Esquimalt, this warm and welcoming space dishes out over 10,000 meals a month. No questions asked. They also rescue and share food, run school meal programs, and foster community with every ladle served.

Everyone’s welcome. No red tape, just real food and real kindness.

NOVEMBER — Gift of Good Food

Fresh produce shouldn’t be a luxury. The Gift of Good Food program delivers weekly Good Food Boxes to families, seniors, and new parents who need a little support.

It’s a bulk-buying club with a big heart: every box purchased helps fund another for someone facing food insecurity. Plus, they source local produce whenever possible. It’s a win-win-win.

DECEMBER — Rotary Club of Victoria (Harbourside)

Rotary has been making good things happen since forever. Locally, Harbourside Rotary runs school breakfast programs, packs food hampers for families, and delivers groceries—and friendship—to isolated seniors.

Globally, they’ve funded education for girls in Afghanistan, small business loans for women in Central America, and reforestation in Zambia. These folks don’t mess around.

Thanks for Drinking With Purpose

Every flight you order at the Growler Station fuels these community changemakers. So whether you meant to or not—you’ve been making a difference. And we think that’s worth toasting.

Cheers to beer that gives back.