A fundraiser to support Bike MS Team Left Hand, Left Hand Brewing Company’s cycling team that raises money to fight Multiple Sclerosis, hosted an online auction on May 12.
Team Left Hand has teams in eight states, including Colorado. The Colorado bike ride is set for June 26, and team members ask for people to sponsor their participation. Money raised benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The auction went toward Left Hand Brewing Tasting Room Shift Manager Jeff Eagan’s ride.
Eagan set out a goal to raise $1,000. Before the action he raised $400. This will be his first Bike MS ride.
Eagan said when he was in sixth grade, his friend's mom, who also was his teacher, was diagnosed with MS. She has lived with the disease for almost 30 years. After Eagan started working at Left Hand in Longmont, last August, he decided to join the bike team.
“I decided if I could do anything with my healthy body to help raise some money to find research to help her or people that get diagnosed in the future to not have it be a life sentence essentially, I wanted to do that,” Eagan said.
The silent auction was held online, but Eagan also gave an in-person presentation on the history of beer and bikes. Left Hand beers, mystery boxes and gift cards to Longmont restaurants were among the items auctioned off. Experiences, like brewing a batch of beer and getting a tattoo or having a beer with Left Hand employees, were also up for bid.
The in-person turnout was small, but Eagan exceeded his goal by the end of the night.
“Although the crowd seemed sparse, the online auction was in full effect,” Eagan said in a written response the next day. “We ended up raising $4,000 last night alone, crushing my goal of $1,000. All in all a great success!”
