BIF Beer Raffle: World Down Syndrome Day: THE PUSH TO HELP SUPPORT MIGHTY MILES

We’ve had some very successful Beer It Forwards in recent months, but I can’t tell you how important this one is to me and The Blue Suede Brews group here in Memphis, TN. You’ll quickly see why.

We’ve picked the family of Miles McCollum for our 4th giveaway for the #beeritforward movement. Miles, to say the least, is a tough little fighter that has Down syndrome. He’s had a rough go at it from the time he first came into this world. This raffle will help the McCollum family with the unavoidable expenses that come with the best treatment Miles needs and deserves.

In order to participate in this Beer It Forward — and for more info on the courageous story of this young boy — go to the Gofundme.com page (Donate Here) for Mighty Miles. For every $5 donated, you will receive one raffle number. Each number allows you an opportunity to win one of these great beer prizes. The # of prizes will increase as the money comes in to help this wonderful cause.





You will need to forward me the GoFundMe confirmation to (beeritforward1@gmail.com) to receive your raffle numbers for the giveaway. And be sure to put beeritforward901 in the comments section on the gofundme page.

This raffle begins immediately and will last two weeks, ending April 4th at 8 p.m. CST. At the conclusion, I will post the results from the random number generator for the raffle. Feel free to enter as much as you want and SHARE with others. If you want to help more than that feel free to email me. Thank you especially to the @bluesuedebrews, @beersnobbin, @moosestache35, @hutsondc, & @901craftbeer.

And now, I’d like to add a special note from Spence Hope, one of the members of the Blue Suede Brews:

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day. Down syndrome, aka trisomy 21, is a condition where individuals have a third copy of the 21st chromosome, giving them a total of 47 chromosomes as opposed to the typical 46. Down syndrome is something close to the hearts of my family.

A few months into my wife’s pregnancy, we found out that our son, Austin, had Down syndrome and would need open heart surgery. We feel incredibly fortunate to have Le Bonheur here, and they took great care of our son, who is now thriving.

People are drawn to Austin, and he makes friends wherever we go. The fact that he radiates joy and interacts with everyone invites people to experience Down syndrome when maybe they haven’t before. We have met many families on our journey and love hearing their stories. One news story that caught our attention featured Miles McCollum and his family. Miles’ story can be found on his gofundme page, but the following is from his mother, Amanda:

My son Miles was born in July of 2014. We knew prior to his birth that he was diagnosed with Down syndrome and a heart defect that would require surgery after birth. We were filled with fears, anxiety, and sadness wondering about the days to come, what Miles’ life would be like, and what impact his life would have on our family. Miles came into the world 5 weeks early via emergency C-Section when a routine ultrasound revealed that he had a collapsed lung. The events of that day quickly revealed two things to my husband and I that have proven true since the first time we laid eyes on Miles- 1) Our son is a fighter who teaches us to be strong on a daily basis, and 2) We are totally in love with our son, and we are blessed to have him in our lives. Miles has had many medical issues in his 19 months of life, and so far he’s had 7 surgeries and spent over 8 months in and out of the hospital. This has been very difficult on our family, but we’ve learned to take things one day at a time and celebrate even the smallest victories.

If someone had told me 19 months ago everything that Miles and our family would experience, I would have thought we couldn’t handle it. But again, Miles has made our family stronger. Despite everything the good times continue to outweigh the bad. Miles has taught me to view life differently. The typical milestones that so often become bragging rights among new parents (when their child sat up, crawled, walked, talked, etc.) feel totally different to me now. I don’t compare Miles to other kids his age or other kids in general. I just enjoy him for who he is. I celebrate things that I would have overlooked had they come easier to him. Everyone who meets Miles falls in love with him. He has a contagious smile and eyes that light up a room. I went from feeling afraid of people with Down syndrome because of my own lack of exposure and education, to feeling so excited whenever I meet anyone with Down syndrome. Miles may not ever have the job title of “Teacher” but he continues to teach our family about strength, love, and acceptance. We are proud to celebrate him on World Down Syndrome Day and every day.

I hope that everyone has the fortune of knowing an individual with Down syndrome, and on March 21st, celebrate these individuals and wear yellow and blue to show your support for them. Please join us in celebrating World Down Syndrome Day by helping Mighty Miles and his family.

 

Another beer added!

 

Another bottle added

 

Another prize package!

 

This is Mighty Miles who you are helping!

 

Another beer added... Batch 2 Beatification

 

Another great beer package

 

Another great beer package, $5 can win you this package or many others.

 

Another great beer package! Package #10

 

An all Memphis Package which is Mighty Miles hometown!

 

Surely everyone that views all these awesome beer packages has at least $5 to spare in order to have a chance to help this young boy out as well as win awesome beer.

Donate that $5 (or more for more chances to win) at https://www.gofundme.com/milesmccollum .
Write beeritforward901 in the comments section on the gofundme page.
Forward the GoFundMe email confirmation to (beeritforward1@gmail.com) to receive your raffle number for the giveaway

 

Package #12 @thebruery 2014 Black Tuesday, Fantome Del Rey, @embracethefunk Batch 2 Cherry Deux