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Vernon hospital staff applaud Okanagan Spirits for gift of clean hands

The Vernon and Kelowna distillery has donated 25,000 bottles of its hand sanitizer
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Vernon Jubilee Hospital staff members Jayne McDonald, Linda Barker, Shona O’Connor, Colleen Magee and Connie King show appreciation for Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery, which donated more than 950 bottles of its Flatten the Curve hand sanitizer Monday, April 20, 2020. (Contributed)

Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery has donated more than 25,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to medical and emergency workers in the valley, and those workers are showing their appreciation in return.

The distillery, with locations in Vernon and Kelowna, dropped off 950 bottles of sanitizer at the Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH) Monday, April 20.

“The staff here were absolutely delighted with the personal hand sanitizers,” said Shona O’Connor of the Vernon hospital. “It is not often that we can give individual gifts to staff so this was very welcome and such a precious gift to receive at this challenging time.”

Hand sanitizer is in constant demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the distillery said it’s already putting together another order of bottles for VJH.

Owner Jeremie Dyck said the distillery has also donated thousands of free bottles to the Kelowna General Hospital — and the donations don’t stop there.

Bottles have been given to BC Ambulance Service throughout the entire central and North Okanagan, local EI offices, numerous Okanagan gas stations, RCMP units and more.

“The list continues to grow daily and we are doing our best to keep up,” Dyck said. “We have targeted these important individuals and sectors of the population because if we can keep them safe and healthy they will be there to care for the rest of us in the event that we fall ill and need their expertise.

To further boost the numbers, Okanagan Spirits launched its Harness Your Inner Superhero initiative — a call for the public to help flatten the curve by purchasing liquor products from the distillery. Profits from liquor sales go towards the production and donation of more bottles of sanitizer.

“It’s where we believe we can have the most positive affect for our entire local community’s health and well-being.”

Both the Kelowna and Vernon distilleries remain open with physical distancing measures in place. Home delivery and curbside pickup is available from okanaganspirits.com or SkiptheDishes during store hours.

One complimentary bottle of sanitizer is included with every purchase.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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