Impressive Bidding Opportunities at the Live Auction on July 16 at the Cork & Barrel Grand Cru Gala
As the largest wine event in Central Oregon, Cork & Barrel offers guests the opportunity to experience a different wine region every year. This summer, winemakers and principals of 16 wineries from throughout Oregon’s revered Willamette Valley will gather July 15-16 in Bend at The Riverhouse Convention Center to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the annual wine event fundraising series benefitting KIDS Center, Central Oregon’s only medical-model children’s abuse intervention center. At the heart of the annual wine event fundraiser: raising a glass — and vital funds — to allow KIDS Center to continue to facilitate positive outcomes for children and families whose lives have been impacted by abuse.
Since its start in 2013, Cork & Barrel has grown to now generate 20 percent of the annual budget of KIDS Center, allowing the organization to provide the staff and services necessary to help children and families heal from abuse. In these past ten years KIDS Center has served over 8,000 children and families from Central Oregon through child abuse evaluations, therapy and family advocacy. Each child abuse evaluation costs approximately $4,000 — all services at KIDS Center, including therapy for children and non-offending family members, are provided at zero cost.
The Grand Cru gala evening, the cornerstone fundraiser for KIDS Center, is on Saturday, July 16 at the Riverhouse Convention Center. “We are ecstatic to highlight the Willamette Valley, home to some of the world’s best producers of wine. Our event has been successful for ten years because of the generosity of our community, winery partners and many other generous businesses who come together and provide support through donating auction lots, attending, or simply by making a donation.” said Ginger Theis-Stevens, director of Development and Marketing at KIDS Center.
The Grand Cru gala kicks off with a Winemaker Reception and live jazz music with the four-piece band, Whisper Not, and is followed by dinner and the live auction. Ticketed guests and guests of sponsored tables have the opportunity to bid on high-end silent auction items and phenomenal live auction packages including a 4-night golfer’s paradise stay at the deluxe Silvies Valley Ranch, located in the beautiful Bear Valley just three hours east of Bend, the turn-key Wall of Wine featuring up to 100 bottles of curated wines from around the world, including premium bottles from the Willamette Valley, a custom camper van rental by Cascade Custom Vans and a week-long stay in a luxury villa that sleeps ten in Tahiti.
“There exists a real opportunity at this year’s Grand Cru gala fundraiser to change the lives of children and families in Central Oregon. A paddle raise of $25,000 at the live auction can truly help break the cycle of abuse by funding part of the salary of a licensed therapist at KIDS Center. Children who grow up in households in which abuse occurs are at a higher risk for being abusers themselves. Our therapy services help children become whole, again, and provide the tools and resources to help end the cycle of abuse.” said Executive Director of KIDS Center, Gil Levy.
Cork & Barrel is a pre-sale, ticketed event. Tickets for all Cork & Barrel events, including the Grand Cru gala fundraiser on Saturday, July 16, can be purchased at CorkandBarrel.org. Sponsorship and sponsored table information is also available on the Cork & Barrel website, or by emailing Ginger Theis-Stevens at: gtstevens@kidscenter.org.
About KIDS Center:
Founded in 1994 and built by the community, for the community, KIDS Center is a privately-funded nonprofit dedicated to the prevention, evaluation and treatment of all forms of child abuse. In a child-friendly environment, KIDS Center provides comprehensive medical evaluations to children who may have been abused, seeking to find out what has happened and to provide a path to healing through family advocacy and therapeutic services. Information about KIDS Center can be found at: KidsCenter.org or by calling 541-383-5958. Anyone with a concern about a child’s safety can call the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline at: 1-855-503-SAFE (7233).