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DELAWARE

Donation Tuesdays: Dewey bartender rallies community to give to local charities

JENNIFER POPIEL
DELMARVA NOW. CORRESPONDENT
Woody’s Bartender Kasey O’Brien and Jimmy O’Conor, Owner, pose for a photo on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017.

A local bartender, Kasey O’Brien, had a vision to help the community that has taken on a life of its own. 

Donation Tuesdays has been a recurring event at Woody’s Bar & Grill in Dewey Beach since May and each month 100 percent of bar tips are donated to a local charity in addition to money from raffling local artwork. 

With the approval and support of owner Jimmy O’Conor, the goal is to use their resources to help others in need.  

What inspired you to begin Donation Tuesdays?

Woody’s held a donation event in May that raised $1,310 on a Sunday lunch shift to benefit fallen Delaware State Police Officer Cpl. Stephen Ballard’s family. (The state trooper was killed in May at a Bear area Wawa).

Since the success of that event, the owner, Jimmy and I have discussed additional ways in which we could use our resources to benefit local charities. 

Donation Tuesdays were born from a hope that if given the opportunity, our community would come together and help us give back. To this date, we have completely underestimated the impact of our friends and devout customers, and continue to remain humbled by their generosity.

When did this kick off and how long do you plan to continue this cause?

We officially started Donation Tuesdays on Nov. 7 and have continued to donate 100 percent of bar tips from 11 a.m-5 p.m. on Tuesdays to the charity of our choosing. In addition, we are highlighting and raffling off a new piece of local artwork every two weeks, in which 100 percent of those funds are also donated.

Our vision is to continue to raise awareness and funds that benefit our local community.  As long as Donation Tuesdays continue to be a success that allows us to help others, we will move forward to highlight and support local organizations.

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What are the organizations that you have donated to so far? Do you focus on one particular organization per month?

For the month of November, we chose to highlight our local veterans and Gold Star families by making the Cory Palmer Foundation our beneficiary.

This foundation is run by an extraordinary group of local men who use their resources to raise money in memory of fallen Marine Recon sniper, Cpl. Cory L. Palmer. We were proudly able to raise $2,086 in support of their efforts to give back to local veterans and their families.

For December, we are highlighting the National Kidney Foundation serving Maryland and Delaware. 

This particular foundation cuts to the core of our establishment. Our efforts to raise money on Tuesdays and to raffle off artwork are in direct correlation to supporting Jimmy, his wife, Anne Marie, and the rest of the local community affected daily with kidney disease.

In all honestly, we have a fluidity that allows us to assess individual situations and decide whom our collection efforts are geared toward. We have found our most success in supporting those foundations or industries that most closely correlate to the desire of our locals to help.

This artwork will be raffled in December as part of Donation Tuesdays effort at Woody's Dewey Beach.

What has the reception been from the organizations that you donated to so far? And have patrons been more receptive to tip more on that specific day?

Personally, I believe that people are, to the core, genuinely amazing. I think, if given an outlet that supports something they are passionate about, an individual will support that cause wholeheartedly. 

Our goal is to choose events, causes, foundations and charities that ignite an interest amongst locals and drive them to show up to give their support. So far we have hit the mark head on.

We could not be more excited by the buzz that has (so far) been generated in support of our giving project. We have been advertising daily on social media and displaying the featured artwork in house, which helps conjure additional business as well as donations on Tuesdays.

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Is there a specific goal you are aiming to achieve with the donations?

Our goal is to continue to use our influence, whatever that may be, to aid as many people and organizations as possible. Leading by example is the best way to lead. 

With that in mind, Jimmy has been a pillar of generosity in our community and this project only helps to further the mindset already instilled in our company culture.

IF YOU GO

Donation Tuesdays

When: Every Tuesday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Woody’s Dewey Beach Bar & Grill, 1904 Coastal Highway, Dewey Beach

Info:  https://deweybeachbar.com