Ordnance Brewing, a tap house, located just off of I-5 in Wilsonville, Oregon, is a brightly-lit place with barrels for seats and food truck menus for happy hour. Behind the bar is the refrigerator-cold room that houses all of the untapped beer waiting to be sipped. It is in this room where two veterans tapped HonoRED Ale for the first time, a new beer they brewed together as a special for Veterans Day.
On Veterans Day, November 11, Ordnance Brewing donated all proceeds from HonoRED Ale to University of Western States (UWS) and the Northwest Center for Lifestyle and Functional Medicine (NWCLFM). The tap house continues to donate all the proceeds to UWS, stopping when the tap runs dry. Ordnance chose to give to UWS because of the free chiropractic and massage services the university provides to community veterans in partnership with the Returning Veterans Project. UWS is an integrated health care university in Northeast Portland. The NWCLFM, is a virtual center at UWS, with a vision is to promote healthy behaviors and positive lifestyle changes in order to achieve optimal quality of life for community members through service, education and research.
The veteran that nominated UWS for the donations and helped brew the HonoRED Ale was Chris David Payne. Though he has never been to UWS for the free chiropractic and massage services, he does recognize the importance of providing care for veterans saying, “I have asked for help in the past when I was struggling. I can’t even put into words how good it feels when someone has your back when you need it. I know that UWS does that and that’s why I picked you guys.”
The veteran population in the United States are often some of the most underserved people in the country, despite having served to protect the day-to-day freedoms many take for granted. To help combat the health care services deficit for veterans, the Returning Veterans Project (RVP) partners with organizations throughout Oregon to provide free health and wellness services to post 9/11 war zone veterans or those who took part in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Iraq War and Operation Enduring Freedom or the Afghanistan War. RVP is one of the few veteran-centered health service providers that incorporates holistic and integrative approach to treating the physical and mental scars of war.
In May 2015, UWS launched a partnership with the RVP and became the largest provider of health services in the partnership for the 28-hours per week of free chiropractic and massage services. University of Western States has a mission to serve and by partnering with the Returning Veterans Project, the university is able to help Portland-area community veterans that need it most.
Read more about the event here.
