How Hemp Can Help: 2023 Roundup

We find ourselves on the eve of a new year, which means we finally have a few days off here at Sunset Lake CBD! 

I can’t help but reflect on some of our charitable work this year and how much it means to me that we get to support causes that we, as a crew, believe in and can do so loudly and proudly. 

This year certainly threw us a curveball. You can read why here. (Hint: The USDA didn’t allow us to grow any hemp!) But don’t worry; we’re going to weather this storm with our excellent team and work our butts off to provide you with only the best CBD products. 

Without further adieu, let’s recap our charitable contributions from this past year. 

Vermont Community Foundation – $5,000

Let’s start with a donation that is near and dear to us as Vermont farmers. Some may know this already, but Vermont was devastated by widespread flooding in early July 2023. The images from this flood are heartwrenching and triggering for many of us who lived through Superstorm Sandy in the early 2010s. 

We knew we had to do something to help our neighbors. We scraped together $5,000 during our farming season for the Vermont Community Foundation’sFoundation’s Emergency Flood Relief Fund. 

You can read more about the fund here and learn more about Vermont’s ongoing recovery efforts here. 

Vermont Public Radio – $16,600

We’re staying local with this next donation. Equitable access to information, news, (and weather) is incredibly important. All of the native Vermonters who now work here at Sunset Lake CBD grew up listening to VPR. Now that we have the means, we’re pleased to be able to donate to our local public radio. 

VPR provides great local coverage that most Vermonters can access for free. We couldn’t be happier being an underwriter once again. We plan on continuing to donate to VPR next year, too. 

Planned Parenthood – $5,000

During our Black Friday sale, we partner with other organizations to raise money for causes we both believe in. This year, we chose to make matching donations to Planned Parenthood with our friends at Majority Report. 

Our donation to Planned Parenthood of America was perhaps our most controversial donation to date, but we have no regrets. Reproductive healthcare is healthcare, and healthcare is a human right. 

Last Prisoner Project – $5,500

We teamed up with the Last Prisoner Project for our 4/20 sale this year. As a farm that grows hemp and operates in the cannabis space, it’s unthinkable that there are people still behind bars for cannabis offenses. 

As a nonprofit, Last Prisoner Project runs so many programs that we appreciate, the biggest, in this writer’s mind, being direct commissary support and post-release grants for folks who we think are unjustly imprisoned for cannabis. 

Check out this organization. If you like and want to support its mission, consider donating to the Last Prisoner Project here.   

ATU Local 689 – $1,000

Early in 2023, we heard about striking transit workers in the VA and D.C. area. After hearing the details, Sunset Lake CBD decided to send $1,000 to ATU Local 689’s strike fund. 

We are ardent believers in workers’ rights, and this was just one of many labor demonstrations we wanted to support this past year. 

Pride Center of VT – $600

This year, the town of Essex asked Sunset Lake CBD to help sponsor their very first pride festival. We were honored to be a part of the celebration. While we didn’t bring any products because we try not to advertise our cannabis hemp products in front of children, it was lovely to talk to parents and friends. 

We hope that Essex Pride invites us back for their 2024 celebration. 

National Eating Disorder Association – $250

The last donation to round out this list is a small in-kind donation to our local National Eating Disorder Association branch. It aligns differently from our past donations, but we’re always happy to help out local folks. 

If you run a Vermont nonprofit and are looking for in-kind donations, please use our contact form here. Send us a message with “donation” in the title. 

Signed,

T.J. Anania

Director of eCommerce