The 2018 Naples Winter Wine Festival increases access to oral health care

The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) will target childhood hunger and expand oral health care for the Fund a Need during its 2018 Naples Winter Wine Festival. Guests of the 2018 Naples Winter Wine Festival, the most successful international charity wine auction in the world, founded by NCEF, will have a chance to show their support through a live auction on January 27th while the surrounding Naples community and beyond can donate through an online auction, which opens January 15th.

“NCEF’s strategic initiatives are collective impact projects that focus on critical needs in our community to make a profound difference in the lives of children. Through community assessments, NCEF has identified priority
service areas to target through a strategic philanthropic model that includes data tracking with outcome-based measurements.”

Grant Committee Chair, Valerie Boyd said. “This year’s Fund a Need focus is directly tied to critical needs we have identified through our most recent “Study of Child Well Being.” NCEF’s Children’s Hunger and Oral Health Initiatives provide vital services that will help ensure children thrive. Through this very important Fund a Need, we will ensure more children have access to good, nutritious food and healthy teeth—both critical to the overall health of a child. If a child is hungry or in pain, they will not be able to learn or grow and develop properly.”

Independent research has confirmed the dire conditions in which thousands of Collier County children live, including:

• One in four children goes hungry on a daily basis. Living in hunger deprives children the energy they need to focus, engage, learn and grow. NCEF’s Children’s Hunger Initiative meets children and families where they live, work and study by deploying Harry Chapin Food Bank’s mobile food pantries at community centers, elementary schools, social service agencies and other central locations.

• 65% of third grade students suffer tooth decay. NCEF’s Children’s Oral Health Initiative provides dental care to at-risk and underprivileged children through the NCEF Pediatric Dental Center in conjunction with a mobile sealant
program. Education classes teach moms and children the importance of oral hygiene, focusing on all aspects of tooth-decay prevention, tips on cleaning babies’ teeth, and the benefits of fluoride to fight cavities.

If a child is hungry or in pain from tooth decay, he or she will not develop physically, emotionally or cognitively.
Given formidable partnerships behind the Hunger and Oral Health Initiatives, this year’s Fund a Need will make a dramatic impact. For example, a $1,000 donation can provide 4,000 meals for families in need or oral health education classes for 175 families; $5,000 can provide 75 children with dental sealants to prevent tooth decay
or 1,600 children a hot meal during after school hours; while $25,000 can provide eight mobile food pantry distributions for 1,100 children or comprehensive dental exams for 50 children.

Hunger and Oral Health are two of NCEF’s seven strategic, multi-partner initiatives, which address children’s needs from head to toe. NCEF annually selects a high-need area as its Fund a Need priority, which last year generated $1.65 million for children’s healthcare. “Living conditions for the children we serve are inadequate even on a good day,” Maria Jimenez-Lara, CEO of NCEF said, “so given the devastation that Hurricane Irma inflicted recently on our community, the success of the upcoming Festival is more important than ever.”

Ticket packages to the Naples Winter Wine Festival are limited to 580 guests and start at $10,000 per couple. A $25,000 package, which includes reserved seating for a party of four at a Vintner Dinner and under the tent, is also available. To inquire about tickets to the Festival, please contact Barrett Farmer at barrett@napleswinefestival.com or 239.514.2239.

ABOUT NAPLES WINTER WINE FESTIVAL
The Naples Winter Wine Festival, one of the world’s most prestigious charity wine auctions, offers a weekend of unforgettable memories. Guests enjoy world-class wines and food during intimate dinners in private homes, and are invited to bid on once in a lifetime travel and wine experiences during an electrifying live auction. Since its inaugural event in 2001, the NWWF has raised more than $161 million, making a profound difference in the lives of thousands of children.

ABOUT NAPLES CHILDREN & EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The Naples Children & Education Foundation, the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, is improving the educational, emotional, and health outcomes of underprivileged and at-risk children. Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCEF has impacted over 40 of the most effective nonprofits in the
community, providing more than 200,000 children with the services and resources they need to excel. NCEF’s unique approach, which emphasizes collaboration between organizations and bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community, one issue at a time.