The One in Eight campaign, now in its fourth year, is an expanding effort that includes CLS Farms in Washington state, Yakima Valley Hops, Gooding Farms in Idaho, and breweries such as Cloudburst in Seattle, Icicle in Leavenworth, Washington, and Talea in Brooklyn, New York.
CLS Farms co-owner Shelley Desmarais, who has twice survived breast cancer, started the campaign. The name One in Eight refers to a statistic: One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lives.
The fundraising supports Wellness House in Yakima, Washington, which helps cancer patients and their families. Breweries that participate in the campaign can also brew special beers or organize events that support organizations in their local areas. In a thank-you letter to supporters last year, Wellness House executive director Margaret Filkins wrote that One in Eight provided “a much-needed financial infusion of operating money … after six-plus months of nervously watching our bottom line.”
This year, CLS Farms is working with Yakima Valley Hops to sell a special lot of Idaho Gem hops grown in Wenas, Washington. The hops are available to both commercial brewers and homebrewers, and more than $4 per pound sold goes directly to Wellness House.
“We'd really like to encourage more breweries to join the campaign,” says Claire Desmarais, marketing manager at CLS Farms. “It runs until December, but breweries are more than welcome to order hops now and brew when they have time in their schedule. Also, breweries can choose to donate proceeds from sales to their local organizations and not feel obligated to donate to Wellness House of Yakima or a national organization. Or, they can simply purchase the hops, which is a donation as well.”
The hops will be available through the end of December at YakimaValleyHops.com. For more information about the campaign, see 1in8.co.