Although the weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged seem so long ago now, it’s hard to forget how nightmarish they were to live through.
Although it wouldn’t be accurate to say we have a full understanding of the coronavirus even now, that went double back in March when most of us first started going into quarantine. And as if that wasn’t enough to deal with, we found ourselves uncertain as to whether the essentials would even be in stock when we went to the store.
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Yet as we experienced that undeniable nightmare, we also had a chance to see the inspiring ways that some individuals and organizations stepped up to help us make it through.
And although the United States is in the process of one of the most tumultuous elections in American history, there remain some signs that this caring spirit hasn’t entirely gone away.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, there exists a brewery called Gizmo Brew Works.
According to its website , the company’s brewery also doubles as a taproom and they have recently opened an additional tap room in Chapel Hill.
Gizmo’s products are also sold at various stores and establishments throughout the state and this year has seen them put that profile to good use.
On October 2, Gizmo launched a beer line called Civic Duty that used QR codes on the can to make life a little easier for prospective voters.
As Spectrum News reported , this code led to the North Carolina Bureau of Elections website and the can itself provided information on key electoral deadlines.
The idea for the line came from Gizmo’s head brewer Joe Walton, who was inspired to make voter information more accessible while watching election coverage.
As he told Spectrum News, “If nothing else, it starts a conversation and if one person scanned this to register to vote, then I feel like we did a huge service and if it was more than that, then that’s amazing.”
By October 12, Gizmo released another beer variety that became all the more relevant the closer we came to Election Day.
This one — also the brainchild of Walton — is called Ballot Box and its cans also use QR codes to direct customers to the state’s Board of Elections site. But this time, the information it unlocks helps voters figure out the location of their nearest polling place.
Unfortunately, both lines are now sold out from Gizmo’s taprooms but the same may not be true for other locations in the state that carry it.
Again, that list of establishments is available here .
Walton has said that feedback for his ideas has been positive regardless of which side of the aisle the brewery’s customers are on.
As he told Spectrum News, “I have my personal political beliefs, but even if we differ, you need to go vote. I truly believe that.”
Although we may not know what will happen as the 2020 Presidential Election draws to a close, there’s something to be said for the fact that some of us will be able to tell our grandchildren that a beer can helped us vote.
h/t: Spectrum News
