CAPE CORAL, Fla. — The Wicked Dolphin Distillery partnered with Florida Crystals Corporation and Fort Myers Brewery to donate sanitizers to first responders, hospitals, nursing homes, food banks, animal shelters, and members of the community Saturday morning.
Hand sanitizer has been hard to find because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, so Wicked Dolphin jumped into action to help the community meet the demand for personal safety and protection.
The distillery says they are following the instructions of the World Health Organization and using high proof alcohol in its solution.
"We wanted to do something big for our community, so we reached out to Florida Crystals, whose sugar we use in our award-winning rum, to see if they would be interested in donating sugar for an entirely different recipe. They agreed without hesitation. Making the volumes of sanitizer we are creating is a lot of work and time, and our distillery is not a huge manufacturing plant, so we also reached out to a great source: the beer community. Fort Myers Brewery jumped in and is helping us by making the wash at their brewery. We then transport it back to the distillery for distillation, mixing and bottling into the sanitizer. This is truly a huge effort, and it makes our whole team so proud to be a part of it," JoAnn Elardo, Wicked Dolphin President said.
The distillery says Florida Crystals transported 42,500 pounds of sugar to Wicked Dolphin for COVID-19 emergency relief efforts.
"This pandemic has affected us all, and we want to do our part to help protect members of our community, especially the brave men and women of our first responders and the medical professionals whose efforts we count on each day to pull us through this crisis. We are proud to partner with Wicked Dolphin in this critical relief effort, and we thank them for their leadership role in supporting the community," Pepe Fanjul, Jr., Executive Vice President of Florida Crystals said,
Wicked Dolphin opened its doors at 10 a.m. and handed out free bottles of hand sanitizer to each person.
Wicked Dolphin says large gallons will continue to be donated to first responders and healthcare professionals throughout Southwest and Southeast Florida.
State Representative, Dane Eagle says Wicked Dolphin represents the American spirit by transforming their business to produce a product for the community.
State Rep., Eagle adds, he is grateful to Florida Crystals and their farmers for their willingness to step up and provide a product Wicked Dolphin needed.
