Northern B.C. charities receive 250 jugs of hand sanitizer made by Pacific Western Brewing

Many non-profit agencies have been dealing with an acute shortage in supply of hand sanitizer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those working at non-profit agencies on the frontlines to help support the most vulnerable are also at much higher risk of getting infected.

To help and support these agencies to continue to offer the critical services, United Way of Northern BC (UWNBC) and Pacific Western Brewery (PWB) joined together to provide them with 250 four-litre jugs of hand sanitizer.

“When we began our outreach across the region, hand sanitizer was the most identified supply need to help critical programs and services continue operations,” says Trista Spencer, Executive Director, UWNBC in a news release.

“We are incredibly grateful for the partnership with PWB and their extraordinary generosity to help northern B.C. stay safe.”

The four-litre jugs of hand sanitizer were made in-house at PWB and provided to local charities like Prince George Search and Rescue (PGSAR), who received some of the first batch.

“When this pandemic hit our region it was very evident that support was not going to come from anywhere but from within our community, this is when we decided that we had to help,” says Cindy Hartford, plant manager for Pacific Western Brewing.

“Our goal was not only to reach out to as many non-profit organizations within Prince George but also within northern B.C., this is where the United Way of Northern BC comes in. With their reach into municipalities and First Nations communities across northern B.C. it was a perfect match.”

The donation provided hand-sanitizer jugs to 68 non-profit agencies that are providing front line services and to two municipalities who will redistribute it to the non-profit agencies in the area.

ICBC, Finning, Papason Trucking Ltd., and Pepsico Foods Canada also provided support to deliver the sanitizers to non-profit and charity organizations across the northern region.