Posted by Ready, Set, Bid!
Big names and big money for naples Winter Wine Festival
By
Renee Stoll
Story Created:
Jan 28, 2010 at 10:17 PM EST
Story Updated:
Jan 28, 2010 at 10:42 PM EST
NAPLES, FL. – It’s one of the highest grossing charity events in Southwest Florida, the Naples Winter Wine Festival. Last year it raised $5 million dollars for at risk children. Can they do the same this year with a slow economy?
Barbara Balser with the festival tells me it’s actually because of the current economic situation that donors are stepping up.
“We’re sensitive to the fact that there are a lot of people here out of work, and that have lost their homes,” Balser explains. She says families in those situations mean children are suffering too.
“All they know is they need, and they probably need more than they did before.”
What really brings in the festival’s biggest donations, Saturday’s auction. Every penny raised goes to the children. Just to give an example, one year a bidder paid $2 million for a Rolls Royce.
Some of the big ticket auction items this year include dinner with Robert Redford and dinner cooked for you by Emeril Lagasse.
I’m told there’s not monetary goal amount, but the foundation hopes to beat last year’s donations of $5 million.
