Pizza and Cider Corps Pairing for a Cause

June is PTSD awareness month and being a veteran owned company, it is something that is very important to our family, the health and wellness of our veterans. My father-in-law, Ken Spinato served in the Vietnam War in 1962 and did two tours: Thailand and Vietnam. Doing various jobs during his 6 years in service from, refueling, repair, mechanics, and a gunner in a helicopter.

Ken Spinato's Story in the Military

Recalling some of his memories during his two tours in Vietnam and Thailand he shared how much he hated walking through Elephant Grass. I hadn't ever seen or heard of Elephant Grass so upon further research I found out that this grass was about 10 feet tall! The opposition would hide in the grass and attack the American soldiers, and if that wasn't enough to be frightened about there were snakes.

Ken expressed that the brotherhood that is formed during service are bonds that cannot be broken and anyone who has lost a friend in war or had witnessed such horrors firsthand are impacted forever. It is said in the US Department of Veteran Affairs that PTSD affects 7 out 100 veterans and an estimated 22 veterans a day commit suicide. 

Hearing these staggering numbers and the reality that so many of our country's heroes are being affected by PTSD is heartbreaking. We knew that as we approached June, we wanted to be able to help our veterans in whatever capacity we could. Our friend at Helping Hands for Freedom, Eric Snelz, had reached out to us to see if we could partner with them to help raise awareness for PTSD and we were honored to do so!

Spinato's and Cider Corps Collaboration

This is how Spinato's June pairing was born, the Hawaiian Hottie and POG Cider from Cider Corps with a portion of proceeds going directly to Helping Hands for Freedom. The reason we chose Cider Corps was simple, they are a family owned/veteran owned Cidery whose mission is to take care of our vets. What began as a therapeutic hobby for Jason, one of the owners from Cider Corps, to work through injuries sustained while deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps, has become Arizona's first and largest craft cidery.

For the whole month of June our guests can help those suffering from PTSD by ordering our Hawaiian Hottie and POG Cider. Stop by a Spinato's location and try this delicious summer pairing that is for a great cause. Learn more about Our Story.

~Jaime Spinato