One of Milwaukee's best breweries, Third Space Brewing – which was one of three area breweries to nab medals at this month's Great American Beer Festival in Denver, is launching a give-back program to support nonprofits focused on youth development and homelessness.
Via the Give20 Program, the brewery will donate 20 percent of tap room sales one night per month to a different charity partner for a Give20 Night.
The first night is Oct. 24 from 4 to 9 p.m. at the brewery’s tap room at 1505 W. St. Paul Ave., in the Menomonee Valley. Milwaukee County’s Housing First Initiative is the debut beneficiary.
Housing First prioritizes providing the homeless with permanent and affordable independent housing without pre-condition.
Third Space kickstarted the program by setting 20 percent of taproom sales from its third anniversary triple IPA – called Billy Mumphrey’s Downfall – for Housing first, too.
Funds from both sources will be used to help find permanent housing for residents of the tent city beneath the Marquette Interchange – not far from the brewery – before the frigid temperatures arrive.
"Our motto at Third Space is that you have your home, you have your work, but everyone needs a ‘third space,’" says Third Space Co-Founder and Director of Sales & Marketing, Andy Gehl. "However, it is difficult to enjoy a ‘third space’ if you don’t have a first space, a home.
"Homelessness is also an issue directly facing our community in the Menomonee River Valley with the tent encampment at the east end of the valley. We want to do our part to help our neighbors there find permanent housing."
Organizations working in the focus areas can contact Gehl about partnering with Third Space by visiting thirdspacebrewing.com/donations.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
