Jon Corbett tried to hold back the tears when speaking about the challenges his daughter Melody faces.
Corbett’s eight-year-old daughter has cystic fibrosis. He spends about 20 minutes every morning and night helping her clear out her lungs.
Jon and his daughter were at the launch of Tilted Tower Ale, a partnership between New Ontario Brewery, the CF foundation and KISS radio in North Bay, where 50 cents from every beer goes to the local Cystic Fibrosis chapter.
“People who buy the beer get something for it and the CF community gets something so it’s nice when people who are donating money get something back,” said Corbett.
Kevin Oschefski, Program Director and Announcer for KiSS 100.5, came up with the idea for the initiative.
"It’s a neat idea to say ‘lets make a beer’ but we all agreed it had to be more than just making a beer and we really wanted to do something to give back. Being involved with Cystic Fibrosis over the past few years, helping with their run and with their Zumbathon, and getting to know the families and understand what life is like, and to understand how close they are to a cure, they are so close right now that every little bit gets them to that day when I really believe there will be that cure. I hope this is another step towards that.”
Mike Harrison, Brewmaster at New Ontario Brewery says community projects have been a priority since they first opened their doors two years ago.
“For us, it is why we got into the business, it’s why we are located on a main thoroughfare, We want to be an integral part of the community and I think we’ve achieved that partnering with the CF Foundation and the radio station,” said Harrison.
The beer is a blueberry wheat ale, and if you look closely you will see a caricature of Oschefski on the front label. The idea for the initiative actually came from a radio personality in Kitchener who helped create a beer fundraiser in his community to raise funds for the same cause. Oschefski thought the idea would work in North Bay too.
"The first thing I looked at was to see if the little guy was wearing socks and sandals and if you look close, he is, because that is my thing,” joked Oschefski.
“It is pretty cool but it is about the charity and New Ontario but it is pretty neat.”
