Buy It Forward – Buy A Beer, Save America
With the shutdown now in its fourth week with no signs of ending and about 800,000 federal employees affected, a new website is offering concerned citizens a chance to “PayItFurloughed.”
YES! You can buy a beer for a furloughed federal employee during the Trump shutdown! It might not get them paid but t least they will be happy.
“Beer makes everything better, so we’re buying local craft brews for federal employees impacted by the government shutdown,” reads the homepage of PayItFurloughed.com. The site, which launched Sunday, was put together by food writer Nevin Martell, the food community Mess Hall, app developer 3Advance and activist Erick Sanchez.
From the team behind the initiative:
“We are frustrated by the lack of leadership in Washington, D.C. and the negative impact the government shutdown is having on hundreds of thousands of our friends, neighbors, and members of our community, as well as local businesses,” they explain. “So we want to step up and help them out as best we can. Free beer is a great way to pick people up when they’re feeling down.”
Those wishing to buy a furloughed worker a brew can go on the site and donate $7.50 for each local craft beer they want to cover. Those employees can then go into participating breweries to enjoy the pre-paid beverages with a federal ID.
So far, Atlas Brew Works (2052 West Virginia Ave. NE #102) and DC Brau Brewing Company (3178-B Bladensburg Road NE) are on board.
Martell hopes to bring more breweries into the fold. “Breweries have been hit really hard by the lack of foot traffic,” he says. Atlas, in particular, has had a tough time, according to DCist. “This seemed like a cool way to help everyone out in a fun way. What’s more American than beer?”
