If you are a craft beer lover like me, there isn’t much that goes better with a great Michigan summer than beer and burgers. Naturally, an event like BRU on June 18 at the Royal Oak Farmers Market seemed like the perfect match. Along with refreshing Bell’s Brewery beer, delicious Bagger Dave’s burgers and tasty wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, there is something very special that comes along with your ticket to BRU… knowing that you’ve helped a Michigan family in need.

Not only is BRU the perfect summer event for a state that takes great pride in its craft beer brewers, but this year’s first annual event was created as a fundraiser for Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLF), serving 4,500 patients and families from all over the state diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood related disorders. It’s hard to imagine that a fun evening with friends in the heart of downtown Royal Oak could make a difference in someone’s life, but for the cost of only two tickets to this great event ($35 in advance, $40 at the door), CLF is able to cover the expense of a patient’s round trip travel to a treatment center, sometimes as much as 500 miles. Think about the kind of difference a whole community could make!

BRU is an important event for CLF for reasons beyond just raising funds for the families and patients that need our help. It is essential to us as a charity to create opportunities to begin connecting with the younger generation. While major financial gifts may be something beyond the means of Generation Y and Z at this point in their lives, everyone has something valuable to give, whether it’s their time, their talents or simply their voice. We cannot only rely on our parents and grandparents to take care of those in need. It’s up to us now to make sure we leave this world a better place than how we found it. It’s exciting to know that can now be done one beer or one burger at a time!

For more information on how you can support Children’s Leukemia Foundation by attending BRU on June 18, please visit brumichigan.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook at twitter.com/BRUfestMI and facebook.com/BRUfestMI.

I look forward to connecting with many of you over great beer and food!