MILWAUKEE — More than 20 Milwaukee-area restaurants and bars are partnering with Meta House this January to support the nonprofit’s mission of helping women and children affected by substance use disorder.
Watch: Milwaukee area bars team up with Meta House for Dry January fundraising campaign
The Dry January campaign aims to raise the final $2.9 million needed for Project Horizon, a campus expansion that will double Meta House’s residential capacity. The Milwaukee nonprofit provides residential and outpatient addiction recovery services specifically for women and children.
"It's really important to have a place where women can come with their children, where they're seeking services for substance use disorder, because when a woman doesn't have a safe place to go with her family and her children, she's much less likely to seek help for what she needs," said Miriam Feinberg, a grant writer at Meta House.
During January, participating restaurants will feature alcohol-free mocktails and give back to the cause in two ways: donating $1 from each Dry January mocktail sold or displaying a QR code linking to Meta House's Project Horizon donation page.
"During the month of January, more than 20 local bars and restaurants have collaborated with us to serve mocktails in the area, and they're going to be very fun. It's a great opportunity to reduce the stigma against substance use disorder and also try new, exciting drinks in the area," Feinberg said.
Cloud Red in Shorewood is among the participating establishments. Ian Cessna, a bartender at Cloud Red, explained how the partnership aligns with its community-focused mission.
"We really rely on the community to keep us afloat, and even on weeknights we're packed with people from all over the community. So any chance we can get to give back and raise awareness or support any marginalized communities within Shorewood or Milwaukee at large, we're always happy to help," Cessna said.
Cloud Red is featuring its lavender haze mocktail for the campaign.
"It is a take on a Vesper martini, but we're using Empress NA gin, very kindly donated to us, and then a lavender mint simple made in-house, lemon juice, and then an NA sparkling wine to top it off," Cessna said.
The campaign provides an opportunity for community members to support addiction recovery services while participating in the popular Dry January trend.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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