Heaven Hill Brands detailed plans to invest $800,000 in the California neighborhood in West Louisville, where the company operates the Bernheim Distillery at 1701 W. Breckenridge Street. The company’s “Spirited Neighbor Initiative” consists of long-term investments in non-profit partnerships and public organizations that support the community in education, mental health and economic development, and more broadly across several critical areas.“Heaven Hill is committed to being our best neighbor in the communities where we work and live. Louisville’s California neighborhood has been our distilling home for nearly 25 years,” said Allan Latts, co-president of Heaven Hill Brands. “We’re working with some key organizations that make up the fabric of the West End community to support a sustainable, thriving California neighborhood now and for future generations.”Heaven Hill Brands is implementing a five-year $500,000 investment with local non-profit organizations as part of the Spirited Neighbor Initiative. Funds will be allocated to a select number of community organizations that apply for assistance through Heaven Hill’s new formalized grant program and the following long-term partners.
- Change Today Change Tomorrow provides services to eradicate food justice and public health barriers plag Louisville’s Black and other marginalized communities.
- Neighborhood House, which provides opportunities ranging from child development to senior programming for families in West Louisville;
- AMPED provides music education, business services and technology workforce training to create self-sufficiency, economic mobility and equity among the city’s Black and brown communities.
- Louisville Central Community Center provides programs ranging from early childhood education to adult job training and money management to advance equity among Louisville’s West End families.
- West End School provides a rigorous education, character development and family support to pre-K through 8th-grade boys and offers housing to alumni who attend area high schools.
The company conducted surveys of employees and neighbors and engaged in community discussions to develop the plan.Heaven Hill Brands is also taking steps to enhance the infrastructure of the California neighborhood, including granting $250,000 to Louisville MSD to support sewer system improvements. MSD has identified several catch basins in the area that were not built with traps essential to preventing sewer odors from escaping. Heaven Hill’s grant will allow MSD to replace those with new, trapped catch basins and address any identified concerns.
Additionally, the company is demolishing an unused building on the Bernheim Distillery property beginning in August to make way for future enhancements to the production process. They are also establishing concurrent ‘beautification’ efforts, including a $50,000 investment to plant new trees and shrubs along the roadway and at Perry Elementary, in partnership with Metro Parks.
