This St. Patrick's Day, Guinness Is Raising #AToastTo Frontline Heroes, Pubs Across The Country And The Communities They Serve

NEW YORK, March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than 260 years, Guinness has been celebrating St. Patrick's Day and what it means to be Irish: being resilient, toasting to the good times and always focusing on the silver linings. This past year, we've seen so many people do their part to lift us all up and keep us going, so to spread the magic of St. Patrick's Day in 2021, Guinness is raising #AToastTo our heroes on the front lines, pubs and bartenders, and our community of friends near and far.

"We won't quite be able to march again this year, but we can give thanks to the people who have raised us all up since last St. Patrick's Day – through our words, but much more importantly, through our actions," said Nikhil Shah, Guinness Brand Director. "In line with our long history of giving back, for the past year, we've been donating to and working with organizations that support restaurants, bars, bartenders, food banks, the fight for systemic justice, and frontline organizations, like Team Rubicon, among others. In true Guinness fashion, we'll continue to have the backs of those in need this March and beyond."

The Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore has been baking and donating "Brewers Bread" to the Maryland Food Bank to help feed the community since last spring, when COVID-19 began to create even greater food scarcity concerns. In addition to monetary donations, the total number of loaves donated is more than 25,000 – and counting.

"After being forced to close our gates to the public for a little while last year, we immediately knew we had to find a way to pitch in and help," said Chef Corrine Liverman, Bakery Supervisor at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore. "We have a ton of grain, of course, and we know what to do with it. So we all turned our focus from only brewing beer to also baking bread for those in need."

Beyond Baltimore, to continue to help with COVID-19 relief efforts this St. Patrick's Day, Guinness is donating $600,000 to Team Rubicon and organizations fighting food scarcity across the country, including Feeding New York State, California Association of Food Banks, Greater Chicago Food Depository, The Greater Boston Food Bank, Maryland Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix.

Fans 21 and older can raise a pint with us and share what they're toasting to this year by using #AToastTo and tagging @GuinnessUS on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Guinness will donate an additional $1 (up to $100,000) collectively to those same charity partners for every qualifying post through March 21, 2021.

In addition to supporting the important work still to be done, Guinness will also be raising toasts and sparking celebration in many ways this St. Patrick's Day season. Even though we'll be waiting one more year to officially march again, Guinness will still be bringing a familiar sight and sound to dozens of cities from coast to coast – bagpipers. To surprise our communities, groups of bagpipers will be showing up outside in towns and cities, unannounced, either on March 17 or the days leading up to the holiday. Keep your eyes and ears open!

And there's more – from raising additional funds via #AToastTo social campaign to launching a new Cameo sweepstakes to help consumers to enjoy the day:

• A new TV commercial featuring the Guinness Brewers Bread project is airing throughout St. Patrick's season, echoing the hopeful "We Will March Again" message we shared last St. Patrick's Day.
• The #AToastTo campaign will appear in major newspapers, on billboards and digital displays in several major cities, and on windows of pubs across the country, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orlando and Baltimore.
• The Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore is hosting 17 days of celebrations to count down to St. Patrick's Day, featuring socially distant movie nights, live music, and a special menu with Irish favorites. Learn more at www.guinnessbrewerybaltimore.com or @GuinnessBreweryUS on Facebook and Instagram.
• Limited-edition St. Patrick's Day gear from the Guinness x Carhartt Collection is now available on The Guinness Webstore, in Carhartt retail stores, Carhartt.com and in select retailers across the country.
• Exclusive Guinness and #AToastTo animated stickers created by Holler are also available via messaging keyboards and on Venmo.*
• Limited-Edition Guinness Draught 'Sláinte' 8-packs and 4-packs on shelves now.

Visit ToastTo.us for full details on Guinness' St. Patrick's Day celebrations and #AToastTo, or follow @GuinnessUS on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

And remember, whether you're in the pub with friends or at home with family this St. Patrick's Day, always drink responsibly. Sláinte!

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Venmo or PayPal, Inc.

About Guinness
The Guinness brand was established in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin.  Brewed using four main ingredients, water, barley (malted & roasted), hops and yeast, Guinness is the world's most popular stout. The iconic beer is brewed in 49 countries worldwide and sold in over 150 with almost 9 million glasses of Guinness enjoyed every day around the world.  The most GUINNESS is sold in Great Britain, Ireland, USA, Nigeria and Cameroon. More information can be found at www.guinness.com.

About Diageo
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

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SOURCE Diageo Beer Company USA