Naples Winter Wine Festival Spotlighting Children’s Healthcare

Naples, FL – November 15, 2016 – This January, guests to the Naples Winter Wine Festival will stand up for every child’s right to a healthy and active life. By supporting this year’s Fund-a-Need, Children’s Healthcare, they will ensure that all children receive the high-quality, in-depth medical attention they deserve. Guests to the Naples Winter Wine Festival will raise their paddles to donate to crucial services like oral health, mental health, primary care and vision during an impassioned plea at the live auction. Their donations will be buoyed even further by contributions to Fund-a-Need from the entire community during the online auction, which opens on Monday, January 16 and closes at 8 PM on Tuesday, January 31 and can be accessed by visiting http://www.napleswinefestival.com/.

Children’s Healthcare is being spotlighted this year because of the tremendous need: poverty has increased almost 10% in the past decade in Collier County, and the county has the third largest population of uninsured children in the state of Florida. These children are under heightened stress as a result of exposure to trauma, mental health concerns, poor academic achievement, inadequate healthcare, and loss of family. In fact, one in five children under the age of 18 has a diagnosable mental health disorder, 56% of children in Collier County do not have adequate vision care services, and

65% of third grade students in Collier County experience tooth decay. Grants from the Naples Children & Education Foundation provide at-risk children with essential medical and healthcare services that have measurable outcomes and life-changing impacts.

“Our community relies on the Naples Winter Wine Festival to raise as much money as possible to help as many children as possible,” said Debbi Cary, co-chair of the 2017 Naples Winter Wine Festival. “The Festival is successful because we come together as a team with a unified vision to make a lasting difference for the children of Collier County. None of it would be possible without the support of our patrons and the entire community.”

During the Festival, guests will also have the opportunity to experience first-hand the impact of funds raised at the Festival during Meet the Kids Day, the emotional peak of the Festival’s weekend. There, guests will get to know the organizations benefiting from NCEF’s grants and strategic initiatives, and will meet the children who have received the resources and services they need to excel.

Every dollar raised under the auction tent will go toward the Festival’s founding organization, the Naples Children & Education Foundation, whose annual grants have provided more than 200,000 children with the services and resources they need to excel.  The Festival has contributed to this cause with more than $146 million raised since its inception.

Ticket packages to the Naples Winter Wine Festival, limited to 580 guests, start at $10,000 per couple. A $25,000 package is also available that includes reserved seating for a party of four at a vintner dinner and under the tent. To inquire about tickets to the Festival, please contact Barrett Farmer at barrett@napleswinefestival.com or 239-514-2239.