COVINGTON, Ky. — If there’s one thing Kentucky is known for, it’s bourbon. But this week, Kentuckians have shown the state should also be known for its compassion.
What You Need To Know
- Bill Whitlow owns Rich’s Proper Food and Drink in Covington
- Whitlow started a fundraiser to help Mayfield, which was devastated by a tornado
- 100% of the profits of bottle sales from last Saturday to Wednesday are going toward relief
- Whitlow’s family members who live in Mayfield were unharmed by the storm
People continue to help lift up their neighbors after devastating storms struck the western part of the state, including one man in northern Kentucky who's trying to help by selling bourbon.
Bill Whitlow is the owner of Rich's Proper Food and Drink in Covington, which specializes in bourbon.
While conditions were comfortable in northern Kentucky last Friday night into Saturday morning, Whitlow’s mind was on his family members who still live in his dad and grandparents’ hometown of Mayfield, a town leveled by an EF-4 tornado.
“I didn’t know who was in town and who wasn’t. I’m very fortunate my grandparents were out of town,” Whitlow said. “But a lot of people aren’t fine. So that’s why we wanted to immediately jump on doing this.”
Whitlow and his wife decided to donate 100% of the store’s bottle sales to help with relief efforts, including making some of their best bottles available to raise more money.
“At first, it was just going to be the weekend, and then we just kept extending it, because we were getting more and more support,” Whitlow said. “It’s been an outpouring of support, people calling us asking us what else they can do, where they can donate more money.”
Between Saturday and Wednesday, the bar was able to raise $1,700. Whitlow said he’s going to bump that amount up to an even $2,000. That money will go to the Kentucky Bourbon Benefit to help people directly in western Kentucky.
Other than some of his grandfather’s property getting damaged, Whitlow said his family is safe.
“That's just stuff. None of us cared about that. There’s insurance. It’s more about the people who actually were devastated with losing a father, losing a house. It’s pretty heartbreaking,” he said.
While this particular fundraiser ended Wednesday, Whitlow said people are also bringing him supplies, which he will take directly to Mayfield.
He said the bar could do another fundraiser in the future.