22-05-2025
More big checks from Des Moines' Big Grove Brewery
DES MOINES, Iowa — In less than three years on Ingersoll Avenue, Big Grove Brewery has already developed a reputation as a very generous neighbor.
'I almost walked right down the street and shook somebody's hand!' said Amy Landrigan, the executive director of The Beacon — a nearby charity dedicated to helping women in crisis.
On Wednesday, Big Grove made The Beacon one of two recipients of its annual Big Grove for Good grants.
'First of all, it's right in our backyard in the Sherman Hill neighborhood,' said Lindsey Rawson-Van Wyk, Big Grove's community coordinator at its Des Moines location. 'We can literally walk there, they can walk to us, so that felt like a great way to support literally our neighbors.'
Selected from a pool of applicants, The Beacon and Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice each got $8,000 checks from the newly formed Big Grove For Good foundation.
The Beacon says that money will go a long way.
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'It costs $26 a day at a minimum to provide services to the women at The Beacon,' Landrigan said, 'so that $8,000 divided by 26, we can provide for that many women for that many days this year. That's just huge for us.'
As a woman who originally came to The Beacon as a client, Marlena Hemphill can attest to all the good this money can do.
'When you're in that situation where life is coming down hard on you and you don't know which way to turn,' she said, 'it just feels amazing to know that you're supported by people who don't even know you.'
Rawson-Van Wyk says this annual event has become one of her favorite parts of her job.
'Making those phone calls each year to the recipients honestly still brings tears to my eyes,' she smiled. 'Even though we're in our third year of doing it.'
Big Grove is a brewery … and some of the women at The Beacon are struggling with sobriety and substance abuse. Landrigan says Big Grove made a special effort to bridge the gap.
'They've created a line of mocktails,' she said. 'That may not sound like a big deal, but we knew they had us in mind and we really appreciated that.'
Big Grove has written grants to seven Des Moines non-profits so far, with all of the money coming straight off their bottom line. It's an effort that has not gone unnoticed.
'They don't just want to be another bar and another restaurant,' said Landrigan. 'They want to truly invest in their neighborhood.'
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