Business & Tech
Sweetwater Brings in $30,000 to Help 'Save the Hooch'
Brewery's "Save the Waterways" campaigns raise thousands more for Waterkeepers throughout the Southeast.
Wrapping up its 7th consecutive run, once again challenged Atlantans to “give of their livers to save the river” this summer during their annual Save the Hooch campaign, helping to protect the Chattahoochee River – a source of water for more than four million Atlanta natives. SweetWater Brewery presented Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) with this year’s check for $30,000 at their End of Summer BBQ celebration on Saturday, Aug. 4 at Canoe on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta.
The brewery’s Save the Hooch campaigns have brought in $380,000 for CRK since they joined forces back in 2006. Funds from the campaign help CRK to better patrol, protect and preserve one of Georgia’s most precious resources. These efforts are more important than ever as the Chattahoochee River was listed this year as No. 3 in the nation’s top 10 most endangered rivers by American Rivers.
The campaign kicked off Memorial Day weekend and ran through the beginning of August. Funds were raised through sales of campaign t-shirts and paper fish donation displays at participating bars, restaurants and retail accounts, as well as through the purchase of seasonal Waterkeeper Hefeweizen draft beers – brewed to help raise awareness for the cause.
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With the great success from the Save the Hooch campaign, SweetWater expanded their efforts throughout the region in 2008 to increase their fundraising efforts in areas where their beers are distributed. The brewery has since supported Save the Waterways campaigns with the French Broad Riverkeeper, Neuse Riverkeeper and Catawba Riverkeeper in North Carolina; Mobile Baykeeper and Black Warrior Riverkeeper in Alabama; Charleston Waterkeeper in South Carolina; and Apalachicola Riverkeeper and St. Johns Riverkeeper in Florida. Their efforts have raised $610,000 for these Riverkeepers to date.
“It’s hard to see waterways throughout the Southeast declining; this is where we go to fish, relax and it’s the water we use to make our beer,” said Big Kahuna and Founder Freddy Bensch. “It’s great though to be able to lead the charge in a movement to help save these resources, and humbling to see the community get behind us in supporting the conservation work these great Waterkeepers do.”
