The Weekend Bag Program, Inc. is a kid-founded and run 501(c)3 nonprofit created to provide students going home from school over the weekend with food and hygiene they otherwise wouldn’t have. The program runs the full 10-month school year and the students in the program receive a Weekend Bag each week. The program is designed to be anonymous so as not to add any additional stress on the student. A school liaison identifies which students would benefit most from receiving a Weekend Bag and then lets The Weekend Bag Team know how many bags are needed. The bags are left with the school liaison to distribute to the students participating in the program.

The Weekend Bag Program, Inc. is entering its 8th year and is currently running in 20 schools throughout Sussex County. They will be starting the school year with over 200 students receiving a Weekend Bag each week during the 10-month year. To date, the Weekend Bag Program has supplied over 135,000 meal items to students throughout Sussex County.

The Program has two types of bags:
The Full Weekend Bag consists of 8 meal items (2 breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 extra meal items), a canned vegetable, a fruit cup, 2 fresh apples, 2 drinks, 6-8 individual snack items, and 2 full-sized hygiene items that alternate each week.

The Hygiene Weekend Bag consists of 2 full-sized hygiene items and 6-8 individual snack items. Hygiene Weekend Bags go to the students who are homeless and this year they have around 50 students in need.

This weekly undertaking requires a lot of work and a lot of products! Krogh's will donate $1.00 from every draft sold on the Giving Tap during the month of September to The Weekend Bag Program and 100% of the donation will go towards food and hygiene items that get put into the bags each and every week. Of course, you must be 21 or older to purchase a beer and you must always drink responsibly.

Interested in doing more? The Weekend Bag Team needs full-sized hygiene products to jump-start the beginning of the school year! They need toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and we have a tote in our front vestibule set up to collect these donations throughout September! Simply drop them off the next time you stop by Krogh's! Every little bit helps!

Interested in doing even more? Consider a monetary donation! Sponsor one bag for $17 and that is for one week only! Sponsor a student for $68 and that will last for one whole month! Please see their website (www.weekendbagprogram.com) for donation options!

Thank you for your support! Cheers!

The recipient of August's Giving Tap is Benny's Bodega, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Newton! Their mission is to offer an alternative solution to the ongoing issue of hard-working families not having their basic needs met. They strive to instill a positive message in our youth while bringing the community together. They do all this with no government aid, no large grants, and no corporate funding. They are strictly people helping people! Their store, located at 166 Spring Street in Newton, offers basic need items to hard-working, struggling families free of charge and amazing volunteers keep it stocked!

How can you help? You can start by simply drinking our Harley's Helles on tap and Benny's Bodega will receive $1.00 from every pint purchased during the month of August! Harley's Helles is a refreshing straw-colored, light German lager with a touch of sweetness and some light bitterness. Of course, you must be 21 or older and you must always drink responsibly.

How else can you help? You can run! Benny's Bodega is proudly partnering with The Fund Racing Alliance, another local nonprofit, for their Branchville 5K on September 10th! So lace up your running shoes and join them in a race to directly help your community! The race starts and ends at Selective Insurance in Branchville, NJ. For more information on the race and to sign-up, go to: https://thefundracingalliance.org/upcoming-events.

Thank you for your support! Cheers!

The recipient of July's Giving Tap is Lennon's House, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports the needs of the mentally challenged in every possible way. Their goal is to create a special needs recreational center, gift shop and house to better this beautiful population.
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The founders' son, Lennon, is the inspiration for this endeavor. He is a 19-year-old young man with a sharp wit, a delightful sense of humor, and a genetic condition called CDK13. Due to his condition, he will never be able to live on his own. Lennon's House will become a home for Lennon throughout his life, and also for others in the special needs community.

Lennon's House will receive $1.00 from each draft sold on the Giving Tap at Krogh's! The beer currently on the tap is Harley's Helles, a straw-colored, light German lager. This beer has a touch of sweetness with a measurable addition of spicy German hop flavor and light bitterness. This is a refreshing summertime beer and it supports a worthy cause at the same time! That's a win-win for everyone! Cheers!

June is National PRIDE Month and the purpose is to recognize and celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. In February 2023, some local community members founded a PFLAG Chapter in Sussex County in response to repeated vandalism and burning of Pride flags displayed at a local church. Founded in 1973, PFLAG National is the first and largest US organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families. Today there are hundreds of local chapters with over 325,000 members. The newly launched PFLAG Sussex County currently has 40+ participants and is open to all interested individuals. Our chapter members are seeking to understand how to be better allies and supporters for the LGBTQ+ community and help achieve the PFLAG vision of an equitable and inclusive world where every person, including LGBTQ+, is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved.

Learn more about PFLAG Sussex County by following their social media outlets or by attending a meeting held on the first Monday of every month at the Sparta United Methodist Church, 71 Sparta Ave at 7:00 pm in Room 8.

For the month of June, PFLAG Sussex County will receive $1.00 from each draft sold on the Giving Tap. Proceeds will help fund education and support programs that they sponsor for our local community. The beer on tap is our Krogh's Light, an American lager, straw-colored in appearance and crisp in taste. This is a very refreshing summer beer!

The Junior Woman's Club of Sparta (JWCS) is a 501c3 nonprofit, civic organization for women committed to promoting volunteerism, improving our community, and fostering new friendships. The JWCS was formed in 1966 and is part of The New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs of GFWC. Each year the JWCS raises and distributes thousands of dollars to local and national nonprofit organizations. Some of our well-known events include Sparta Day, Safety Village, Big Money BINGO, the 5th Grade Spelling Bee and the Holiday Wish Tree.

For the month of May, the Junior Woman's Club of Sparta will receive $1.00 from each draft sold on the Giving Tap. Proceeds will help foster events for our local community. The beer on tap is Weighted Arrow, a guest beer from Forgotten Boardwalk Brewery in Cherry Hill. The style is a traditional Berliner Weisse and this beer is slightly tart with a pleasant berry finish, very refreshing for springtime.

The Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce has served our area for 80 years! The GNCC is an organization of businesses and professional people in Sussex County working together to further economic development, community improvement, and civic responsibility. They are a non-profit organization whose major concern and commitment is to further the interest of the business community in the greater Newton area. The GNCC works to establish new businesses, relocate existing businesses in the community, and assist valued members with their specific needs. They are the proud sponsor of many public events, and they're pleased to have established programs and educational scholarships that have a direct impact on our community.

One of The Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce's main focuses is giving back. For example, they accepted the application of The Weekend Bag Program which helps support our youth community with food and hygiene products while remaining completely anonymous. Spoiler alert: Krogh's Restaurant & Brew Pub is also proudly sponsoring The Weekend Bag Program on September's Giving Tap!

The Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce further gives back to the communities it serves through its scholarship fund benefitting graduating seniors from Newton High, Kittatinny Regional and Sussex County Technical School. From April 24-30, 2023, participating restaurants on designated dates and times donate a portion of their sales to the GNCC scholarship fund. Patrons simply need to mention the GNCC when dining to help direct funds to this cause. Participating restaurants are as follows:

-G & S, Newton / participating the full week of 4/24-4/30 / 100% of donations go to the scholarship fund

-The Circle, Newton / participating 4/24-4/30 / 100% of donations go to the scholarship fund

-O’Reilly’s Pub & Grill, Newton / participating 4/24-4/27 / 10% of sales

-Tranquility Farms, Newton / participating 4/24-4/27 / 15% of ice cream sales

-Sheridan’s Restaurant & Tavern, Newton / participating 4/25 / 10% of sales

-Farmers Daughter, Newton / participating 4/25-4/27 / 10% of sales

-Dominick’s, Newton / participating 4/24 / 10% of sales

-Panera’s, Newton / participating 4/25 / 20% of sales

-Bubbakoo’s Burritos, Sparta / participating 4/26 / 15% of sales with presented flyer (see GNCC's Facebook page for flyer: https://www.facebook.com/newtonchamber)

-Paco's Pizzeria, Newton / participating 4/27 / 10% of sales

Krogh's Restaurant & Brew Pub is not on the list of participating restaurants because we are sponsoring The Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce and their scholarship fund for the entire month of April through our Giving Tap program! One dollar from every draft sold on that tap will support the GNCC's scholarship fund to award seniors who have demonstrated a similar commitment to their community in the pursuit of further education or career training. We also wanted to make our readers aware of this scholarship opportunity and applications are currently being accepted through May 1. Applications are available from high school guidance departments and can be forwarded to the GNCC.

Check out The Greater Newton Chamber of Commerce at www.greaternewtoncc.com and learn more about events they do throughout the year!

Parents and guardians 21 or older can contribute to the scholarship fund by having a Giving Tap beer at Krogh's! The beer on the Giving Tap is a guest beer by Forgotten Boardwalk Brewery, Cherry Hill, NJ. The beer is Weighted Arrow, a traditional style Berliner Weisse. It is slightly tart and refreshing with a pleasant berry finish often called the “Champagne of the North.” Cheers!