Soroptimist fundraiser grosses $28,000
Locals and visitors alike gathered in the sunny Healdsburg Plaza on Saturday to sample a variety of brews at Soroptimist International of Healdsburg’s “Beer in the Plaza” event. As the service group’s largest fundraiser, the 2014 event grossed a total of $28,000.
Around 40 breweries gathered at the 28th annual fundraiser to showcase their wares, which included a wide range of beers, as well as cider and alcoholic ginger beer. North Coast Brewing Company, 101 North Brewing Company, Mendocino Brewing Company and Fogbelt Brewing Company were just a few of the vendors who attended the event.
Mike Jennings, a wholesale representative with Hangar 24 Craft Brewery, which hails from Redlands, Calif., poured samples of the company’s orange wheat beer and Belgian ale at the event. The 6-year-old company, he said, makes use of local ingredients, and even sources oranges for its beers from across the street.
“It’s always great to donate, and we love to get the exposure,” Jennings said of Beer on the Plaza. “Why wouldn’t we want to be here?” For Adam De La Montanya, who is a seller with Santa Rosa’s 3rd Ale Works, the appeal of Beer on the Plaza could also be summarized as “good beer and good food.”
According to longtime Soroptimist Karen Tappin, who is both chairperson of membership and of Beer on the Plaza, the event is the main fundraiser for Soroptimist International of Healdsburg, and “every penny goes back to the community.”
Funds raised from Beer on the Plaza support a wide range of programs and scholarships, including the YWCA Safe House, a confidential residence that provides domestic violence treatment services; various scholarships; and the Drug Abuse Alternatives Center, which provides alcohol and drug-related support services.
“We’re noted for having a wonderful event,” Tappin said. “And it’s held in the nicest place in Healdsburg.”
In its earliest years, Beer in the Plaza was held in the Villa Chanticleer, Tappin said. After leaving the Villa, the event briefly relocated to Recreation Park, before settling in the Plaza, where it has remained for over 20 years.
While many think of Healdsburg as a wine destination, “craft beer is becoming very popular now,” Tappin said, and subsequently Beer on the Plaza attracts guests from a distance. Participating breweries also many travel hours from their business location to attend the event, and are treated to a dinner at Bear Republic Brewing Company before heading home, according to Tappin.
Soroptimist International of Healdsburg is a local chapter of a worldwide organization that works to improve the lives of women and girls. The Healdsburg Soroptimist chapter was founded in 1956, 35 years after Soroptimist International formed in Oakland, Calif. Global membership in the organization exceeds 80,000 women in around 130 countries and territories.
The Healdsburg chapter, which has around 28 members, organizes a second large fundraiser in the spring of every year. The women’s-only “Girlfriends on the Green” golf tournament provides financial support for girls to pursue sports and arts in their schools, named the Shannon Boaz Memorial Scholarship Fund after a late member of the Soroptimists.
For more information on Soroptimist International of Healdsburg, visit www.sihealdsburg.org.
