The brewery and the neighborhood are stepping up to support parent warriors at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Now you can too.
Burke-Gilman Brewing is right across the street from Seattle Children’s Hospital, a regional hub for the treatment of rare diseases in children. Not long after opening in 2018, the staff at the brewery’s taproom noticed that some patrons were coming in wearing “caregiver” lanyards. They soon discovered that these folks were parents of children receiving treatment at the hospital.
Most of these parents are a long way from home and are fighting through something that scares the hell out of all parents: a child with a major, potentially fatal illness. The brewery provides a place where parents/caregivers can take a much-needed break, decompress, talk, recharge, and get that brave face ready for the next day.
It didn’t take long for Burke-Gilman Brewing to set up a program allowing people at the taproom to purchase beers in advance for these parent warriors. It doesn’t involve the hospital; rather, it’s just a show of support from the neighborhood. It’s easy for you to also contribute to Pints for Parents.
“They’re going through an incredibly stressful time,” said Kenneth Trease, co-founder of Burke-Gilman Brewing. “Sometimes they just need to go somewhere they can be normal for a bit, somewhere they can talk through hard decisions, somewhere to decompress with new friends they’ve made, who are going through the same thing. We thought, how can we connect these parents with the wider community, to welcome them in, in a place where they’d honestly rather not be, but to make their stay here a little bit less stressful.”
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Typically, it’s been the neighborhood’s beer lovers who pick up the tab. Patrons at the Burke-Gilman Brewing taproom buy a beer, unseen and in advance, for someone who they don’t know, but with whom they empathize. Now you can do the same without even visiting Burke-Gilman Brewing, though we suggest you do that because the beer is outstanding. The brewery’s website includes an option for you to buy a beer for a parent.
Despite all the things that make us different, there are far more things that make us the same. The way parents love their children is at the top of that list. Somewhere much further down the list, you’ll find our nearly universal appreciation of beer. I suppose this brings those two things a bit closer together.
