Raising funds for clean water in East Africa
Sonoma County residents will have the opportunity to turn wine into water by raising funds for clean water projects in Africa during the inaugural Vineyards to Villages (V2V) Wine Safari.
The fundraiser is hosted by Global Partners for Development, a Rohnert Park based-organization, as part of their V2V program, which addresses community needs in health, water and education in East Africa.
“It can feel really local and intimate even though it’s far from here,” said Amy Holter, Global Partners for Development’s Director of Programs and Evaluation. “I know people in Sonoma County love giving locally, but through this initiative we can feel like we are keeping a really good eye on how our funds are being used and where they’re being used.”
From Nov. 14 to 22, a $40 ticket (a $130 value) will grant safari goers tastings at nine V2V wineries in Cloverdale, Geyserville, Windsor and Healdsburg including: Christopher Creek Winery, Deux Amis Winery, Esterlina Vineyards & Winery, Fritz Underground Winery, Merriam Vineyards, Pedroncelli Winery, Viszlay Vineyards, Windsor Tasting Lounge and Wren Hop Vineyards.
Wineries of the V2V program, which was started in spring 2014, donate a third of the sales from designated V2V wines sold in their tasting rooms to support clean water projects at elementary schools in western Kenya.
The program has already raised $70,000, bringing clean water to thousands of children and their families.
John Viszlay, owner of Viszlay Vineyards, said he joined V2V because he thought it was a great way to make a difference in the world.
“We’re small business owners – we don’t have a lot of extra cash but we wanted to make a difference,” Viszlay said. “We take water for granted here. We walk over, turn on our sprinklers and there’s clean water. These folks have young children dying because there’s disease in the water. For us to donate proceeds from wine sales seemed like a pretty darn good thing to do.”
Proceeds from the wine safari and the V2V program in general go towards clean water infrastructure, sanitation facilities, hygiene education and community water kiosks at primary schools in western Kenya.
“I think that it’s important for people to know that of the Vineyards to Villages funds we raise, 100 percent goes directly to the program,” Viszlay said. “It’s not something filled with fluff and administrative costs like a lot of other charities get bogged down in. People can feel good that they’re buying good wine, and it’s going to a good cause.”
Global Partners for Development stated in a press release that only half of all Kenyans had access to clean water in 2013 and that waterborne diseases, rampant in western Kenya, cause chronic illnesses and death – especially among young children.
“When families are freed from the burdens of waterborne disease, they have the opportunity to commit their time and energy toward educational and entrepreneurial activities and contribute to the development of their own communities,” stated the Global Partners for Development press release.
Tickets can be purchased at www.gpfd.org/vineyards-to-villages.
