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!

Our Giving Tap recipient for March is The Fund Racing Alliance, a non-profit organization that fuses the passion for running with the desire to help others. Their mission is to enhance physical, mental, and community stability by strengthening its foundation with fundamental skills and needs. This organization was established to fight the poverty battle our communities were forced into due to the COVID-19 crisis. Their mission continues on, building stronger communities and stronger selves. They believe that, together, we can make a very big difference! Learn more on their site and here is a statement from their founder:

Regardless of the terrain, when I am running I feel free. It has been a healthy outlet for daily stress and is often the time when I accomplish my clearest thinking. Every spring, I challenge myself to a race and commit time every day to getting my body and mind healthy. It was not long after I started to prepare for the extensive training my 2020 goals would require that I realized it may be a long time before my next race. Along with everyone else in the world, I had to significantly alter the experiences that fulfill my life. I wanted to stay connected with my community while making an impact in it. On a peaceful run down an unlined road, I had a vision. Today, I call that vision The Fund Racing Alliance. An alliance is a mutually beneficial relationship. We are all facing challenges individually so why not face them together? The proceeds from your registration fee, along with the donations made on your behalf from people who support you, will go to charity. You can make a difference in the lives of others, while simultaneously helping yourself. Daily exercise releases endorphins, triggering a positive feeling in the body. They create a reduced feeling of stress and depression, which many faced due to COVID-19. Running, walking and jogging are all healthy reasons to get outside every day.

The Fund Racing Alliance encourages you to give running a try! See what an impact endorphins have on your life! See what a difference you can make in your stronger self and in your community! Meet up outside Krogh's EVERY Thursday in March at 5:30 pm and be READY for a RUN! Beginners or experienced runners are welcome to just show up and run with this group! The pace and how far you go are totally up to you! Afterward, everyone meets back at Krogh's and hopefully tries The Weighted Arrow, the guest beer on the Giving Tap! The Fund Racing Alliance receives $1.00 from every unit sold.

The Weighted Arrow is made by women-owned Forgotten Boardwalk Brewery in Cherry Hill, NJ. This is a very drinkable Berliner Weisse beer with an AbV of 3.4%. It is tart and refreshing, and often called the "Champagne of the North!" Must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol and always drink responsibly.

The recipient of February's Giving Tap is Winter4Kids, located at the Campus of The National Winter Activity Center, in Vernon, NJ. Some people may remember the location from many years ago as the old “Hidden Valley” ski resort. Winter4Kids began in 2015, and they are a 501c3 nonprofit, youth-serving organization.

Winter4Kids creates opportunities for meaningful change. Through outdoor activities and program enrichment, Winter4Kids helps children build skills for life. The life-changing outcomes are that children develop better attitudes towards Self (self-esteem, confidence, resiliency), Health (physical activity, mental, nutritional), Opportunity (sports, academic, life), Mastery (being one’s personal best) and a love of the Outdoors!

At the Winter4Kids Campus, all children are welcomed and embraced as their own authentic selves, and where they can always feel a sense of belonging in a safe space. Winter4Kids exists to create healthy lifestyles for youth, and in the wintertime, provide opportunities through a development program to be active and healthy by learning snow skills, namely skiing, snowboarding and cross-country. Nutritious, homemade meals, snow clothing and equipment, and program enrichment are included. Life skills and core values are the heart of the curriculum, with mentorship as a critical component. Their dedicated staff and volunteers connect with kids on many levels as they share their vast backgrounds and impart to the kids that they have opportunities in life that they did not think they could have or have access to. Also, Winter4Kids has a competitive Athletics program and their W4K team participates in the New York State Ski Racing Association!

During the summer, they continue to provide a fun, welcoming and safe place for kids to come and stay active. They offer a weekly camp with unique activities such as archery, biathlon, mountain trail biking, orienteering, hydroponics and culinary, robotics, hiking and arts and crafts. Nutritious meals are always included, and kids get to make healthy meal choices and learn about the benefits of healthy foods as they make kid-friendly dishes using ingredients from their hydroponic garden.

To learn more about Winter4Kids and inquire about their programs or their volunteer opportunities, please come to Krogh's on Sunday, February 12, as we host a Dining to Donate for them! Representatives of Winter4Kids will be here for a Meet & Greet from noon-4:00 pm that day to answer any questions! Winter4Kids will receive a portion of the day's sales to help support programs for kids!

Lastly, have a beer from our Giving Tap because Winter4Kids will receive $1.00 for each draft sold on that tap during February! Must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol.

The recipient of January's Giving Tap is Found In Thyme, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit farm sanctuary in Wantage that specializes in welcoming disabled, neglected, senior and special needs barnyard animals. Found In Thyme Farm sanctuary was co-founded by Stephanie and Trevor McPherson in 2017 and their mission is to provide every animal placed on their farm a soft and loving place to land, ensuring that they receive the proper care and treatment that they deserve. Found In Thyme exists to ensure that no animal is denied a quality of life.

As a recipient of the Giving Tap, Found In Thyme will receive $1.00 from every draft sold on that tap this month, but to go one step further, we are collecting Christmas candy canes and peppermint candies for their horses! The candy is good for the horses' digestion and it stimulates their appetite, which is great for the older horses they care for! A drop-off box can be found inside Krogh's main entrance and it is accessible during business hours daily.

We've all been affected by today's inflation and rising costs of goods, but this has really hit Found In Thyme hard. No one can describe the rough patch they are enduring better than the founders themselves so here are their words:

Our horses just received their very last round of bale from our previous hay fundraiser. While they happily munch away, we’re worried for them. Inflation has affected the sanctuary so much more than we could have imagined. The price of hay has increased tremendously, which is one of our largest financial burdens on the sanctuary. As we prepare for winter with our senior gang who relies so heavily on their 24/7 access to hay, we’re faced with heavier financial obstacles. Our current needs rest with hay, feed, farrier costs, supplements and ongoing medication.

This year we have turned away animals that needed us because we are unable to provide for more than we have at this time. This is such a hard part of rescue that often isn’t talked about. Having to make the decision to close our doors this year so that our gang here, from the pigs to the goats to the horses and all of our feathered friends, gets the care they deserve, was extremely difficult. Winter is one of the most stressful times on the sanctuary and with inflation comes the responsibility of focusing on continuing to provide the best life for our residents. As the years roll by our animals are getting older. Their needs grow with every new gray hair on their muzzle and goatees. New supplements are needed for older horses who need to maintain their body weight. Many of our animals now feel aches and pains, the same way we humans do, when they get up from a comfy nap. Our gang needs more vet checks to monitor arthritis and medications. A lot of these guys were rescued at an older age when these needs became too much for their previous families. We feel animals deserve the same compassion and care in their old age that they did in their younger years. These animals are old, but they aren’t broken or damaged. We don’t discard them after a certain age; we make sure they feel loved and safe as they live out what time they have left, embraced in comfort. This is our struggle right now.

You can help us provide these animals with the best retirement we can. They might be elderly, or maybe they don’t move as fast or even run anymore. They might need extra guidance into the barn, and accidentally step on you when they miss their footing. They might slobber on you after their breakfast, as they become slower to eat. They might take longer to navigate their way to you when you call them as their eyesight isn’t so keen anymore and their senses aren’t as sharp. But let me tell you something...those animals have just as much love to give, just as much appreciation, and just as much heart as when they were young. We often think about their previous lives and what they were like in their “glory years”. We would have loved to know them then and would have loved to have even more time with these amazing animals than we do, but we are so blessed and grateful to know them now when they need us the most. One day, and most likely soon for some, they will, unfortunately, leave us for a much greener pasture, one that will never run out, where they will run and buck again. We think about how hard that will be for us, for our kids and for their other furry and feathered friends. This is a part of rescue rarely talked about and it’s incredibly heart-wrenching. These animals don’t get adopted; they don’t go on to another family. They reached their final family, their final fields, their final stalls. We’re the last to love them. We focus on what we can provide in the time they have left while ensuring they are comfortable. And that’s where we rely on you, our community, our friends!

So besides peppermint candy donations and supporting the Giving Tap at Krogh's, here are some ways you can help us give our animals the absolute best retirement:
⁃ Monetary donations: We are so grateful for even $5.00! Every little bit adds up! $5.00 is hay for ONE horse for ONE day! Our preferred methods for monetary donation are:
...Our website (http://www.foundinthyme.org)
...Venmo (foundinthyme) as it’s the quickest way to receive funding
...PayPal (foundinthyme@gmail.com)
⁃ Feed donations: Our entire sanctuary is fed through Brodheckers Farm, where most of the feed is milled directly by them. Our horses and pigs flourish with the grain from Brodheckers, enabling us to keep weight on the older crews. If you would like to donate feed you can call Brodheckers at (973) 383-3592 and reserve feed for our next pickup.
⁃ Tractor Supply gift cards: We utilize Tractor Supply nearly every day. Here we purchase our supplements (beet pulp, alfalfa, wheat bran, weight booster, dewormer, etc). This is so very important, especially in winter!
⁃ Veterinarian donations: With old age comes more frequent checkups. If donating to our vet is how you would like to help, please PM us through our website for more information on how you can do so!
⁃ Spread the word: Sharing what we do here is a significant way to help us in our mission!
⁃ Getting involved: If you or your family is looking for a way to help your community, please consider the sanctuary. We will be hosting winter fundraisers, and we are always grateful for help! If you’re looking to host a fundraiser, please reach out to us!

As always, thank you for your support, encouragement and generosity. We appreciate you ♥️
⁃ The McPherson Tribe