Wine & Salmon Festival Supported Projects
The purpose of our annual Wine & Salmon Festival is to raise money for all of our wonderful local and global projects. Here’s a little more information about where the money goes:
Local Projects
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
Funding for this college readiness system operating in all Eugene middle and high schools that focuses on those who will be first generation college students.
Food Boxes
Delivering hundreds of food boxes for needy community partner families throughout the year, including special boxes for the holidays.
Head Start
Emergency loan fund for needy families, warm clothing for the winter, monthly activity and books for each child, and family activity nights.
Scholarships
Scholarships for college bound high school seniors and for non-traditional students returning to complete career-related training.
Downtown Languages
Scholarships for learning English, Posada Family Nights, special activities for students during Pilas Program, bilingual books for program graduates.
Fairfield Elementary
Books for students and the annual Spirit of Giving event.
"Youth House"
Sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul – Our special appeal for this year’s WSF event will be to provide housing stipends for Youth House graduates attending college.
Global Projects
Earthspeak & San Miguel de Allende School for the Deaf
Providing speech therapy for children with hearing loss.
Stove Team International
Providing fuel-efficient cooking wood stoves in Central America and Mexico that reduce indoor air pollution, improving the health of thousands of families while saving countless trees.
Project Amingo
Providing scholarships and services (educational, medical, and material support) for children in Colima, Mexico.
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Delivered and distributed to countries in need.
Aid Africa
Helping to rebuild numerous sustainable communities in Uganda by providing clean water, efficient cook stoves, farming skills and supplies, and more.
South Valley District Grant
Our club’s participation helps fund international projects supported by a consortium of local Rotary clubs. Friends of Buyijja is one such example.
Revenue Streams
Silent Auction: We expect to have approximately 100 or more appealing silent auction items, mostly in the value range of $50 to $400. These include arts & crafts items, wine, gift cards to local merchants and service providers, two-night stays at Oregon resorts, and many more. Last year’s Silent Auction provided over $12,000 to help support our club’s projects. You can participate by procuring items and/or by bidding on them at the WSF event. Maybe you’ll “win” one of these!
Live Auction: We typically have about 15 oral auction items whose values typically range from $600 to $3,000. These include vacation packages, elegant group dinners, fine merchandise, and more. Last year’s live auction raised over $15,000 to help support Southtowne’s fine work in the community. Again, you can participate by procuring items and/or by bidding on them at the WSF event.
Dessert Dash: We typically have 30 or more delicious desserts donated by our members which is more than enough for one per table. Each table group privately bids on how much they’re willing to donate, and then they get to “dash” over and select a dessert for their table, in the order based on how much their table donated. We typically raise about $10,000 in this way, and it goes to fund the food boxes that we assemble and donate to families in need.
Special Appeal / “Paddle Raise”: Each year we select one or two special causes to be the recipient of our Paddle Raise. Our auctioneer par excellence, Sid Voorhees, calls for pledges, typically ranging from $1,000 to start, all the way down to $50 pledges. We typically generate between $10,000 to $15,000 in our special appeal, and this year’s funds will go to provide housing stipends for graduates from the Youth House so that they’ll have support that will enable them to attend college the following year.
Raffle: At the WSF event, some of our past scholarship beneficiaries will be on hand selling raffle tickets for nice prizes that typically range in value from $50 to over $500. We’ll draw for winners at the event. The proceeds support our club’s many fine projects.
Event Tickets: The lion’s share of the event ticket price is needed to cover costs including the ballroom space, technology, appetizers, fine dinner including wine at each table, and all the banquet service. Your ticket also provides free wine tasting from local wineries who are donating their service and product at our event. Approximately speaking, the first 200 tickets we sell will cover the event cost. Additional ticket sales provide us with funds that we can use to support our local and global community service work.
Donations: Some members generously provide a monetary donation to the event.