Restaurateurs Join SweetWater Brewery in Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Fund Raising
At a cup-raising event in August, SweetWater Brewery presented a check for $55,420–proceeds raised through its fourth annual Save the Hooch campaign–to Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR). The Save the Hooch campaign runs from Memorial Day through the middle of July each year and engages beer drinkers, bar patrons, and restaurants throughout metro Atlanta in efforts to raise awareness and funds to support UCR’s river patrol and water quality monitoring programs.
Participating local bars and taverns hold special promotions and sell paper fish and custom Save the Hooch t-shirts to their clientele. Despite the economic downturn, this year saw a rise in participation among local business, with over 100 participating accounts in metro Atlanta. The single largest fundraiser for the campaign was Taco Mac, whose stores brought in just over $28,000.
“This campaign demonstrates that local business and citizens can step up to protect the vital natural resources that we all depend on,” said Sally Bethea, Executive Director of UCR. “SweetWater’s efforts have not only provided crucial funding for our water monitoring programs – they have also involved more people than ever before in protecting their river.”
According to Steve Farace, Minister of Propaganda for SweetWater Brewery, “The passionate response from retailers such as Taco Mac, Marietta Pizza, Williamson Brothers BBQ, Wild Wing, our wholesaler United Distributors, and many others is a fantastic statement that folks understand that protecting our water supply is vital!”
UCR is the only nonprofit whose sole purpose is to protect and preserve the Chattahoochee River, its lakes and tributaries, which 3.5 million Georgians depend on for drinking water, recreation and industry. The Chattahoochee is one of the most endangered rivers in the country. Since its inception in 1994, UCR has kept watch over our waters, stopping the flow of hundreds of millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the river and neighborhood streams, holding polluters accountable, and promoting water efficiency efforts.
