Nonprofit RIP Medical Debt and Melvin Brewing are “Raising a Glass” to Abolish More Than $30 Million of Medical Debt in 10 States

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- It may be unorthodox for a nonprofit to encourage people to enjoy a draft or two by teaming up with an award-winning brewery, but RIP Medical Debt (RIP) and Melvin Brewing aren’t your run of the mill organizations.

The duo has been working on this project for almost a year and have joined forces to create a new beer, “Your IPA,” with 100% of proceeds from kegs sold from a special donated batch in August & Sept of 2018 going directly to RIP to relieve people of unpaid and unpayable medical debt.

Medical debt relief will be centered in Melvin’s 10 markets: Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, California and Massachusetts. The amount of debt forgiven will be determined by how much beer is sold by bars in each state – setting the stage for an epic philanthropic competition.

Melvin has already committed to donating 2% of proceeds from sales of “Your IPA” (which launched in can-form in mid-April) to RIP. Even before this donated batch, Melvin is already set to abolish nearly $5 million of medical debt.

It’s Amazing What a Penny Can Do

RIP, started by two former collection agency executives, is positioned in the debt selling and buying industry to purchase bundled medical debt for pennies on the dollar. One dollar = $100 of medial debt relieved, $100 = $1,000, etc. Melvin’s aim is to raise $300,000 throughout the year, to relieve $30 million in debt for 27,000 families across 10 states!

“We at Melvin have always shot high with our goals. When we sat down nearly a year and a half ago to discuss what we could do that might have a huge impact on people’s lives, we didn’t imagine that we’d be so lucky to team up with RIP Medical Debt and get such an amazing impact for our philanthropic dollar,” says Melvin’s Sales Director Ted Whitney. “With help from our amazing accounts, our incredible distributors and beer-loving fans, we’re positively affecting the lives of thousands of individuals and families. Who knew you could get so much done by sitting down to have a few beers!”

“To re-fashion that famous line,” EVP and RIP Co-Founder Jerry Ashton says, “Yes, Dorothy, you can drink away someone else’s medical debt problem.” He adds, “You can think of it as having your charity and drinking it, too.”

Media: Here’s a link to a creative advertisement explaining the Melvin/RIP collaboration.

And here’s a video chronicling RIP’s founders’ trip to Melvin’s headquarters in Alpine Wyoming to help brew the latest “Your IPA” donated batch.

Every case purchased of “Your IPA” also relieves $17 of medical debt. Cumulatively, there’s $300 million debt across Melvin’s markets. So, the campaign has its work cut out for it, and certainly needs your support to succeed. Find which bars are carrying the donated batch (scroll down) & donate here. Find a local bar that carries Your IPA with the beerfinder app: https://melvinbrewing.com/about/beerfinder/

About RIP Medical Debt

RIP Medical Debt is a nonprofit that buys and forgives medical debt across America — the only civilized country that puts its citizens at risk of financial ruin due to an illness or accident. RIP works with individual donors, philanthropists and organizations to purchase medical debt for pennies on the dollar to provide financial relief for those burdened by impossible medical bills. Founded in 2014 by two former collections industry executives, Craig Antico & Jerry Ashton, RIP has eliminated over $120M in medical debt thus far. RIP rose to national prominence on an episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver in which RIP facilitated the abolishment of $15M in medical debt. That segment on YouTube has clocked more than 11,000,000 views. To learn more visit www.ripmedicaldebt.org

About Melvin Brewing

Melvin Brewing was born in the back of a Thai restaurant in 2009, when owner Jeremy Tofte decided to bring beers from the future to Jackson, Wyo. What began as a 30-gallon brew system grew into a 3-barrel system, which produced multiple award-winning beers Melvin IPA, 2x4 Double IPA, and Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb, served alongside Asian street food, kung fu movies and old school hip hop.  After winning Small Brewpub of the Year at GABF 2015, Melvin Brewing opened a 30-barrel production facility in Alpine, WY, and went on to win Brewing Group of the Year at GABF 2017. Embracing the chaos and riding the wave, Melvin Brewing is now ready to take its world class beers on a worldwide tour, because if your beer is not madness, it's not beer. For more information about Melvin: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24056/