DENVER — Beginning September 28, Frontier Airlines will be loading the cargo holds of planes with 91,200 cans of safe drinking water canned by Oskar Blues Brewery and provided by CAN’d Aid Foundation to fly to Puerto Rico. The first cases of water are expected to land in San Juan, Puerto Rico beginning on Friday afternoon. Frontier expects to continue to deliver water via flights that depart from Denver International Airport and connect to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
44 percent of Puerto Rico’s population is currently without drinking water following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria. The Category 4 hurricane blasted the island with devastating winds, rain and flooding that resulted in loss of power, services, contaminated and broken water supplies. Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority officials stated that potable water won’t be available island-wide until power is restored, which could take months.
“We’re fortunate to be in a position to help,” stated Dale Katechis, Founder of CAN’d Aid Foundation and Oskar Blues Brewery. “When towns and areas are hit hard by natural or man made disasters, water supplies are often the first thing to go. And when we can jump in to provide safe drinking water quickly – we stand on the gas. In Puerto Rico, we had no immediate way to help, but with generous support from Frontier Airlines, we’re now able to lend a hand, FAST, because it’s the right thing do and because we can.”
Relief efforts have been slowed due to the remote location of the island. With limited access to the airport, Frontier Airlines will have one flight daily to deliver safe drinking water and bring back stranded travelers.
“With the hard to reach nature of Puerto Rico we are in a unique position where we can partner with Oskar Blues and CAN’d Aid to provide quick delivery of safe and clean drinking water to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Frontier Spokesman Richard Oliver. “With our ability to fly in relief supplies we’re able to provide some much needed relief to people in need.”
Oskar Blues Brewery stopped beer production several times this month to can safe drinking water for Texas, Florida and now Puerto Rico. CAN’d Aid Foundation and Oskar Blues Brewery have distributed 433,000 cans of clean drinking water to those in need after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Since its inception, the CAN’d Aid Foundation has helped ship nearly 1 Million cans of water to communities in need of safe drinking water such as Flint, MI, South Carolina and Louisiana.
About CAN’d Aid Foundation:
The CAN’d Aid Foundation spreads people powered do-goodery through Towns, Tunes, Treads & Trails and Love Yur Mama efforts nationwide. To date, CAN’d Aid has raised $107,500 for hurricane relief efforts, thanks to a $50K match from Oskar Blues Brewery. Funds raised will be used to support long-term rebuilding efforts in affected areas as well as a continued commitment to providing clean drinking water to communities in need.
About Oskar Blues Brewery:
Founded 20 years ago in Lyons, Colorado, Oskar Blues Brewery launched the craft beer-in-can apocalypse with their hand-canned, flagship brew Dale’s Pale Ale. Today, Oskar Blues is one of the fastest growing breweries in the country and operates breweries in Colorado, North Carolina and Texas. Oskar Blues produced more than 200,000 barrels in 2016 and Dale’s Pale Ale earned the nation’s top-selling craft can six-pack at U.S supermarkets. The original craft beer canners continue to push innovation with creations like The CROWLER, Hotbox Coffee Roasters, B. Stiff & Sons Old Fashioned Sodas, The Oak Room, Oskar Blues Fooderies, REEB Cycles and the cycling inspired accommodations and event space at REEB Ranch in North Carolina. Oskar Blues is available in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., parts of Canada, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Brazil, and South Korea.
To keep up with all things Oskar Blues, www.oskarblues.com .
About Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines is committed to offering ‘Low Fares Done Right’ to more than 80 destinations in the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico on nearly 300 daily flights. Headquartered in Denver, Frontier’s hard-working aviation professionals pride themselves in delivering the company’s signature Low Fares Done Right service to customers. Frontier Airlines is the proud recipient of the Federal Aviation Administration’s 2016 Diamond Award for maintenance excellence and was recently named the industry’s most fuel-efficient airline by The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) as a result of superior technology and operational efficiencies.