Following flooding across the Hi-Line in early May and a boil order advisory in Hill County that began in April, the American Red Cross partnered with Anheuser-Busch to provide more than 100,000 cans of water to Havre residents and communities on the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy’s reservations.

In Havre, the water was distributed to organizations like schools, medical facilities, nursing homes, group homes and the Boys and Girls Club. Pallets were also delivered to City Hall, where residents could stop by and pick it up.

“The City of Havre is very appreciative of the American Red Cross and Anheuser-Busch for giving us this water,” Havre Mayor Doug Kaercher said. “There were significant hardships through this whole process and without it, certainly some people would have gone without water.”

Water was also delivered to the Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy’s reservations, where spring flooding impacted their water quality.  On Fort Belknap, cans of water were delivered to Hays, Lodge Pole, Fort Belknap Agency and the eastern end of the reservation, Disaster Emergency Services Coordinator Elizabeth HorseCapture-Azure said.

“This water helps families a lot,” she said. “It’s just one less thing they have to worry about.”

On the Rocky Boy’s Reservation, water is being distributed at the Help Lodge, near Stone Child College.

Lori Fons, with the American Red Cross National Headquarters In-Kind Donations team, helped coordinate this collaboration with Anheuser-Busch. Since the inception of its emergency drinking water program in 1988, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesaler partners have provided more than 90 million cans of water to U.S. communities affected by natural disasters and other crises.

“We are incredibly grateful to Anheuser-Busch for raising their hands and helping Montanans,” said Fons, who lives in Bozeman. “Disaster relief is a team effort, and we couldn’t do it without generous partners like these.”

Each year, Montana Red Cross volunteers respond to hundreds of disasters across the state. To learn more about these efforts and get involved, visit montanaredcross.org or call 800-272-6668.