MIAMI — Quontic Bank sent three pallets – nearly 5,000 bottles – of emergency drinking water to Puerto Rico to aid Hurricane Maria response efforts.

The New York City-based financial institution, which has a location in Coral Gables, Fla., delivered two hundred 24-pack cases of bottled water to a hurricane relief collection center in Miami before it was shipped to Puerto Rico.

“Many of our customers are either from Puerto Rico or have friends and family there—and they’re hurting in the wake of the hurricane. As a community bank, we have an obligation to look out for our community and help where we can,” said Ray Duran, who manages Quontic Bank’s Coral Gables location.

“Quontic Bank sent 2.5 tons of water to Puerto Rico not only to help those devastated by the hurricanes there, but to help create a culture of where people help one another whenever and wherever they can.”

Six weeks after Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on the Caribbean island, a million people in Puerto Rico still lack clean water, according to published reports. Municipal water services have not been restored for about a third of the island, reports said.

Ryan P. Merritt, director of lending at Quontic Bank, personally donated one hundred cases of bottled water for hurricane victims in Puerto Rico.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said.

The 2.5 tons of bottled water was first delivered by Quontic Bank to a hurricane relief center at 1415 West 49th Street in Miami, which was organized by Florida State Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah and Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban “Steve”Bovo Jr., among other private partners. The pallets of water from Quontic Bank, along with other essentials donated by the community, were packed into a 40 foot shipping container and will arrive in Puerto Rico early next week.

“It is great to see a community bank like Quontic Bank lending a hand in a time of real need. This is a true testament of what community service is all about,” said Commissioner Bovo.

“A community’s true colors are seen during times of trouble. It fills me with great pride to see the interaction of both public and private sectors coming together for a common good.”

The water will be distributed by Unidos Por Puerto Rico, a not-for-profit organization established by the First Lady of Puerto Rico, according to a spokesperson for Sen. Garcia. Univision PR will oversee the distribution, ensuring it gets to remote parts of the island, the spokesperson said.

Sen. Garcia thanked Quontic Bank for “stepping up and helping those in need after this devastating hurricane season.”

“Our community and world could use more corporate citizens like Quontic Bank, who believe in helping and giving back to those in need,” said Sen. Garcia.

“Thank you for meeting the challenge and helping so many in need.”