Nine years ago, Martha Atherholt and Wendy Hudler opened Jack Mason’s Tavern, a neighborhood eatery in Clifton Forge, Virginia, named for Martha’s grandfather. In November, their enterprise expanded when they created a brewery next door. The name was appropriately changed to Jack Mason’s Tavern and Brewery.
Ever mindful of the community that supports their business, they immediately began considering ways to make a meaningful contribution to the area. The Five-Cents-Per-Pint program was initiated, focusing on four area nonprofit organizations over a six-month period. When a customer purchases one of their locally-brewed beers at the tavern, they are given a token. As they leave, there are four boxes with the names of four nonprofits on them. The customer surveys the options and deposits a token in the box of their choice. At the end of six months, checks are sent to the four organizations and new nonprofits are selected for the next six months.
Boys Home of Virginia was one of the four organizations chosen for the first six-month period. Wendy says that one of the benefits of the experience is the ability to speak to customers about the non-profits featured and to introduce people from out of town to some of the helping agencies in the area. Martha mentioned that some customers elected not only to deposit their tokens in a box, but also placed money in them to be donated to the organization. When asked why Jack Mason’s initiated the program, Wendy didn’t hesitate to respond. “It’s the right thing to do. People have supported us over the years.”
Interestingly, Boys Home has benefitted from the efforts of the Mason family in generations past. Just inside the doors of the administration building on the main campus of Boys home is a plaque naming the building after George Floyd Rogers, the founder of Boys Home. Also on that plaque is a listing of the trustees during 1964, the time of the building’s dedication. There is listed the name of Mrs. Jack Mason, Martha’s grandmother. It seems that the practice of contributing to Boys Home began several generations ago with Martha’s grandmother and continues to this day.
We are grateful that Martha and Wendy chose Boys Home of Virginia as one of their charity partners. Thanks also to the customers who participated in the program and selected Boys Home as the recipient of their tokens.