Cocoon Brewing makes donations to De Pere couple hiking for happiness
DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – Kyle Ott and Maggie Konopasek are embarking on their next journey, the Pacific Crest Trail, to raise awareness for Bigger than the Trail.
Bigger than the Trail is a local charity created by De Pere native Tommy Bryn to support the mentally ill in finding the resources they need and help pay for them.
Michael Johnson is the Bar Manager at Cocoon Brewing Company in De Pere and coordinated with the couple for a full day of fundraising on Sunday.
“Anytime we can do something with charities and stuff like that and put together an event in a fun and casual environment that gets people excited and gets people engaged is always a plus,” stated Johnson.
The brewery celebrated its one year in February and since its opening, Johnson has made it a point to support local nonprofits and important causes such as mental health awareness.
“This last year has been a bit of a whirlwind, but it’s been fun learning every day, growing every day, and learning how we can engage with the community in active ways like this,” he said.
And for Maggie and Kyle, it means everything to them to see so many people coming together to support, donate, and raise awareness of something so close to their hearts.
The brewery added several unique and limited beers, and throughout the day, there was a raffle to help with the monetary donations.
“It’s been a great turnout, they had gathered on their own a lot of raffle baskets and we contributed a raffle basket to that,” explained Johnson. “Also, a dollar from every cocoon beer sold today is going to go towards Bigger than the Trail for their hike for happiness.”
Their goal for the whole campaign was 10 thousand dollars and before today, they were at 6 thousand dollars so the couple says they’re blown away to see how much people are giving back.
“It’s just been amazing to see the people come out of the woodwork,” Maggie Konopasek exclaimed. “People that we’ve known from our childhood are here to help honor and celebrate us!”
The couple will set out on their newest adventure on Thursday, starting on the United States-Mexico border on Sunday and finishing their 2,655-mile journey in Canada.
“We’re anticipating it should take us about six months to complete,” said Ott.
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“Yeah. we’re estimating the end of September, but we’ve got a couple of weeks in there for wiggle room. doing about 15 to 25 miles a day depending on the altitude,” explained Konopasek.
If you want to follow along with Kyle and Maggie as they take on the Pacific Crest Trail, the couple will be sharing updates on Instagram.
