For Immediate Release
Rhonda Motil
MCVGA
831-375-9400

Monterey County Vintners and Growers Foundation
Contributes $16,000
to Assist the Monterey Community in Home Health Care

Wine Industry Donation will Benefit the Central Coast Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice Efforts

Monterey County, CA- April 27, 2005 - The Monterey County Vintners and Growers Foundation (MCVGF) and The Central Coast Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice (VNA) are pleased to announce that MCVGF has made a charitable contribution in the amount of $16,000 to VNA. This brings MCVGF’s contributions to VNA to nearly $35,000 in the past six months.

Each year, MCVGF selects a local charitable cause to receive a portion of the proceeds earned at the MCVGF Annual Monterey Wine Auction & Gala; which features wine, entertainment, and lifestyle packages. MCVGF selected VNA as a primary beneficiary for the second year in a row as a result of the growing home health care need in Monterey County. With the contribution, MCVGF intends to support efforts that will maintain critical health care services in the region. Additional beneficiaries from the Monterey Wine Auction & Gala included the American Vineyard Foundation, UC Viticulture Research, and collegiate scholarships for children of vineyard and winery employees.

“We were so pleased with the revenue generated from the Monterey Wine Auction & Gala in February. This was the first time that we had conducted the event in a barrel room at a winery. The combination of the ambiance of Kendall- Jackson Vineyards and Winery, the fabulous auction packages that VNA helped to secure, and the generous donors who were willing to contribute to worthwhile causes made this one of our most successful events that we have ever hosted,” commented MCVGF events director, Tamara Gunnerson. Ms. Gunnerson highlighted, “VNA has played such a valuable role to so many people in the Monterey County community, and for that, we are thrilled to be able to financially support and recognize their efforts.”

Families that are supported through VNA continue to stress that they have been a valuable component of their lives. “We just LOVE the VNA nurses,” commented Wanda Stoughton, a King City resident who has received care from VNA through several surgeries, hospitalizations, and the death of her husband. She noted, “I praise them every chance I get. Not only are they all highly skilled nurses, but they are always so kind and sweet. I’m willing to tell the world!”

For more than 53 years, the nonprofit Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice has been caring for the Central Coast. VNA makes over 70,000 home visits each year from offices in Hollister, Salinas, Monterey and King City. Now, due to the closing of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula’s home health services, VNA is the only nonprofit home health agency and the one agency that accepts the majority of Medi-Cal patients in both Monterey and San Benito Counties. VNA’s mission has always been to serve all those in need, regardless of ability to pay, within available VNA resources as provided by generous gifts from the community.

About MCVGF

The Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association (MCVGF) brings together the talents and resources of members, partners and our community in order to promote and support our leadership in the art, the science and the business of wine. Founded in 1974, MCVGA is a non-profit organization representing over 75 vintners and growers in Monterey County. To find out additional information about the members of MCVGA please call 831-375-9400 or visit online at www.montereywines.org