From supporting children’s hospitals to helping those marginalized by society, retailers continue making significant contributions to improve their communities. “Giving back to our community is one of our core values as an organization,” says Jon Halper, co-owner of the 15-unit Top Ten Liquors in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. “We are involved with Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF), a charity we have a lot of passion for.”
Top Ten Liquors has been a major sponsor of CCRF for a decade. This year, Jon and Jill Halper served as the Dream Chairs of the 43rd Dream Gala in Minneapolis benefiting CCRF and helped raise more than $900,000. For Jon Halper, it’s personal. His sister Jobi Halper is a survivor of childhood bone cancer osteosarcoma. “She lost her leg, but she survived,” Halper says. “Fifty years ago, children had a 2%-3% chance to survive from osteosarcoma. Today, the survival rate is more than 80%. We still have a lot of work to do. There are many incredibly dangerous cancers, and you don’t want to be a parent and find out your child has a 20% chance of not surviving.”
Every year, Top Ten donates all the wine and some limited-allocation spirits for the gala, which is attended by 500-600 people. In 2025, two bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 23-year-old were donated. One bottle was used to make exclusive cocktails and the other was featured in a live auction. The two bottles raised about $18,000. “It’s a good example of the types of things liquor stores can do to help charities,” Halper says. “CCRF continues to give to the University of Minnesota, support research to end cancer, and fund national programs for children and families, awareness, and educational outreach.”
Top Ten also raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “Unfortunately, we lost my father, David, to leukemia,” Halper says. “CCRF is partnering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for research in that area. Every month, we also give each Top Ten store $100 to donate at their discretion. We directly tie the store in with the community.”
In Western New York, Premier Group’s three liquor stores—Premier Wine & Spirits, Premium Wine & Spirits, and Prestige Wine & Spirits—give back to nonprofit organizations big and small. “We support charities in many ways by not only donating product but also getting involved on the different boards like Oishei Children’s Hospital, Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo, and the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation,” says manager Jon Notarius. “Two of the biggest local fundraisers we participate in are the Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo’s annual Harvest Fest Gala Wine Tasting and 117 Holes for Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.”
Beverage alcohol producers and wholesalers helped sponsor Notarius this year to raise more than $60,000 for the Patricia Allen Fund (PAF) to benefit critical care teams at Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen helped establish the fund in his grandmother’s memory in December 2020. In all, this year’s golf event raised more than $800,000 and allowed the hospital to purchase a new ambulance for the pediatric transport team, which includes highly skilled nurses, respiratory therapists, and physicians. “I have done it for the past five years,” Notarius says. “I am sure I will do it again next year.”
Premier Group plans to donate wine for the Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo Harvest Fest Gala wine tasting reception and silent and live auctions on October 17. Notarius also recruits vendors to help pour wine at the event. “The wine and liquor business and brand owners are very supportive of different charities,” he says. “Learning from our late father and company founder Burt, being involved in the community is not only the right thing to do, it’s also good business.”
In Birmingham, Alabama, LeNell’s Beverage Boutique owner LeNell Camacho Santa Ana focuses her fundraising efforts on TAKE Resource Center (Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering), which provides services to the local black transgender community. “I get inundated with requests for donations for various causes and would go out of business if I participated in every fundraiser that hits me up, so I focus my efforts on one organization,” she says.
LeNell’s Beverage Boutique serves as a drop off point for toiletries, jewelry, clothing, and shoes for TAKE’s clothes closet. Camacho Santa Ana created a private label called Black Unicorn with the intent to support the organization even more. “So far through the sale of Black Unicorn whiskey’s first release ($500 a 750-ml.) and the sale of two barrel-aged Black Unicorn beers ($50 a 22-ounce bottle, or two bottles for $70), I was able to sponsor a fundraiser gala,” she says.
Other ways LeNell’s has supported TAKE’s mission include hosting a potluck and Cognac tasting and volunteering at their events serving food and providing bar service at a gala. LeNell’s also supports its community by hosting weekly potlucks at her store “where anyone can pop by and share food,” Camacho Santa Ana says. “We also offer a once-a-month free meditation and yoga session in the store before we open for business followed by free community teatime with free self-help books.”