These are fun and easy ways to help at a time that is neither fun nor easy.

“I own bars and it’s devastating to say that you can’t keep the bar going with business as normal,” says Greg Boehm, founder and CEO of professional barware company, Cocktail Kingdom. He is also co-owner of several bars that have had to close because of Covid-19 the pandemic.

Boehm echoes the sentiments of many in the bar industry who are being deeply affected by the new coronavirus. Since March, many bars and restaurants across the country have had to temporarily – if not permanently – shut their doors to the community that’s helped build them. How can we all aid in the recovery of the bar community?

Individuals such as Boehm are finding ways to raise both funds and morale for those affected the most: the staff up front and behind the scenes.

Seeking a way to support the bar industry in these tumultuous times, Boehm launched a branded bar t-shirt fundraising campaign on CocktailKingdom.com that raises funds for a number of bars across the US, not just the ones in the Cocktail King(dom) he co-owns.

Boehm states, “The bar business is not the most lucrative. If somebody got into it to make a lot of money, they got in the wrong business. You do it because you like people. It’s a difficult time for people, so I’m hoping the t-shirt fundraiser offers a little support.”

The bars, such as the one for Amor y Amargo designed by Natalie Czech, used their own in-house art talent to design the tees. 100% of the proceeds from the t-shirts purchased go directly to the individual bar and their staff. Boehm adds, “Our sales are way down, but we were trying to think, ‘What can we do using what we’re good at?’ I started the [fundraiser] with the idea of not having an ultimate goal in mind, but one thing is creating a sense of community among the bars we’re working with. I really hope to keep the bars in customers’ minds, so when all these bars are ready to open up again, these customers will be thinking of them and bring their business back.”

HEAR SOME MUSIC, AND DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A CHARITABLY-TARGETED TIP

Committed to bringing people together through music, community, and crafted cocktails are Boulder, Colorado-based husband and wife team Lauren and John Maggio, founders of Cocktail Squad canned cocktail brand. “Music has always been the core of our brand. Sure, we’re a canned cocktail company and a small business, but we’re a community. We’re not about the alcohol. We’re about bring people together to enjoy experiences together over a great cocktail,” Lauren says. Building on the spirit of community and their love of music (Lauren gets it honestly from growing up in birthplace of jazz, New Orleans), the couple launched Squad Sessions, weekly music sets by local artists released three nights a week via YouTube. In place of a tip jar, Cocktail Squad encourages donations to frontline causes they’re supporting such as Feed the Frontlines Boulder, USBG National Charity Foundation Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Fund, and The Jazz & Heritage Relief Fund.

None of the donations go to Cocktail Squad. All funds are funnelled directly to the aforementioned charities. “We hope that it empowers our community to affect positivity and contribute to local causes. It doesn’t have to be the [charities] we lay out. We’re just trying to bring awareness to helping the small businesses in your community,” Lauren says.