When staff at the College’s Teaching Distillery began running its stills to produce sanitizer instead of spirits last spring, they never imagined quite how far their efforts would go to help the community.
A year later, they found out with a special gift from St. John Ambulance in recognition of how their donations of sanitizer have assisted the charitable, humanitarian organization province-wide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On June 7, St. John Ambulance delivered COVID-19 Pandemic Humanitarian Service medallions and plaques to the Teaching Distillery, head distiller David Dickson as well as others involved with the effort from the Learning Enterprises
“It brought up more emotion than I would have expected, and it gave me the opportunity to reflect on our journey of hand sanitizer production,” said David Dickson, after receiving his plaque. “It made me feel very proud of what we were able to accomplish.”
The Teaching Distillery made three donations to St. John Ambulance – in May, July and November – donating a total of 800 (450L) bottles of sanitizer, which was distributed to their local branch as well as province-wide.
Brian Cole, chief executive officer, St. John Council for Ontario, said that they learned about the opportunity to support their local branches all across Ontario with hand sanitizer through their Niagara Region Branch, and its connection with the NC Teaching Distillery and head distiller David Dickson. He noted that St. John Ambulance has had a dual role through the pandemic of providing essential first aid, and health and safety education, as well as providing volunteer medical first response and support services at a variety of pandemic service settings, including isolation, screening, and vaccination centres.
“Now, hand sanitizer may seem like only a small part of the overall pandemic response, but when you consider that tens of thousands of students taking essential first aid, health and safety training across Ontario have been protected as a direct result of Niagara College and its NC Teaching Distillery’s contribution, not to mention the protection of thousands of vital St. John Ambulance volunteers providing pandemic related services across Ontario, you begin to appreciate the profound positive impact,” said Cole.
“It is for those reasons, that St. John Ambulance Ontario is pleased and proud to recognize NC Teaching Distillery, David Dickson, and the team, with the St. John COVID-19 Humanitarian Service Medallion.”
The Teaching Distillery began producing sanitizer in March 2020, to help meet the overwhelming demand for the product during the onset of the pandemic.
Overall, the Teaching Distillery produced and donated 1,700 bottles of sanitizer during the pandemic. In addition to St. John Ambulance, bottles were donated to local charitable organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, Gillian’s Place, and the YWCA. Several departments within the College also received donations of sanitizer.
Efforts extended beyond the Teaching Distillery. To produce the alcohol required for the product, the Teaching Winery donated wine, while the Teaching Brewery made dedicated batches of beer at a high alcohol content.
“The production of sanitizer at our Teaching Distillery during the pandemic was truly a team effort within our Learning Enterprises,” said Steve Gill, general manager of the College’s Learning Enterprises who spearheaded the initiative. “I’m so proud of how everyone came together and collaborated in response to the great need within our community.”
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