By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The Greater Fayetteville-Manlius Lions Club will be hosting “Brews For Blue” from Nov. 10 to 17 in recognition of National Diabetes Awareness Month.
Planned in conjunction with the Seneca Street Brew Pub, “Brews For Blue” invites pub patrons to buy rounds of Kölsch for a cause.
A dollar from each purchase of the German beer will go toward activities, service projects and other initiatives put on by the local Lions Club to share information about dealing with diabetes.
“I’m more than happy to help the Lions Club,” Heidi Menikheim, the manager of the pub, said. “I’m just excited to be helping out.”
Bartenders at the pub will also set out containers to generate donations throughout the week.
“You can stop in on your way home from work,” Palladino, a member of the Lions Club, said. “You can go out with your friends for a nightcap some night, any night during this upcoming week.”
On Nov. 14, Assemblyman Al Stirpe will visit the pub to read a declaration observing World Diabetes Day.
According to Palladino, the money raised will go into the club’s general fund. In the past, the club has used its funding to host events and provide scholarships to graduating seniors from Fayetteville-Manlius High School.
Palladino said the club intends to send kids living with diabetes to Camp Aspire, run by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Rochester.
The club also aims to work with the Manlius Library and the Fayetteville Free Library in setting up displays on symptoms and risk factors for diabetes.
The “Blue” in the title of the week-long event refers to the blue circle that symbolizes diabetes.
Palladino, whose 16-year-old son has type 1 diabetes, said the disease requires daily monitoring.
“It’s like having a full-time job,” Palladino said. “You have to own it, and you have to work at it. The people who live with it…I give them so much credit for their determination and their resilience, because it’s like living a rollercoaster.”
In early 2019, the Lions Club started meeting on the floor above the pub at 315 E. Seneca St. in Manlius, breeding a partnership between the two entities.
At this year’s Fourth of July festival in Manlius, the Lions Club worked with pub employees to sell beer throughout the day.
The Greater Fayetteville-Manlius Lions Club, founded and chartered in 1947, belongs to the service organization Lions Club International, itself founded in 1917.
The Manlius club currently comprises about 40 members and continues to welcome new members.
The club meets the third Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m.
“It’s a great way to know other people in your community and to give back,” Palladino said.
The ADA states that 30 million, or about 1 in 10, Americans have a type of diabetes.
