Needs for volunteers, silent auction donations in run up to wine tasting fundraiser
By RYAN LANCASTER
Staff Reporter
A wine and beer tasting benefit for American Cancer Society's Relay For Life will take place March 6 from 5-9:30 p.m. at the Northern Quest Ballroom in Airway Heights.
Easier read than done.
For the past several months, Medical Lake resident Barbara Homewood has been single-handedly preparing for and publicizing this “Evening of Enchantment,” which will feature six wineries, two breweries, three live bands and seven local artists, along with a buffet of appetizers. A silent auction and door prizes will also add to the mix.
Though she holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and even owns her own marketing company, Homewood said this is the first time she's attempted a project of this magnitude on her own. “I started working on this with some other Relay for Life volunteers, but they slowly dropped away,” she said. “I decided not to drop the ball, just kept going and going and going.”
She's circulated announcements to local media outlets, put up fliers in scores of area businesses and plugged the event at countless meetings. “This has consumed me, there's just so much to do,” she said.
But even after all her efforts, Homewood hasn't yet seen the level of response she's hoping for. About 100 tickets need to be sold at $25 each in order to recoup out of pocket expenses, but if she can reach her personal goal of 300 attendees she'll have raised $5,000 for ACS in ticket sales alone.
Homewood said all profits will go to support local ACS programs, and she's tried to keep the event as locally minded as possible. The Kalispell Tribe donated the ballroom space and some of the food, and most of the featured companies and artists hail from the immediate area. There will be tastings by Liberty Lake Wine Cellars, Lone Canary, Golden Hills Brewery and Northern Lights Brewing Company among others, with Couer d' Alene chocolates and Just American Desserts on hand to complement the drink.
Homewood said many of those involved in the event have been touched by cancer themselves, adding that her own brother's baby died of cancer as well as her mother-in-law, which is one reason she's given so much of herself to organizing the benefit. Adam Webster, guitarist for The Van Marter Project, said his band responded to Homewood's call for music groups, but she had already filled the bill. After explaining to her that the lead singer's mother is currently fighting cancer and his own mother is a breast cancer survivor, Webster said she added them to the play list right away. “We are committed to serving those in need through music and we're committed to the Relay for Life because they serve those who need it most,” he said in a recent e-mail.
Judy Lippman, community relationship manager for the Spokane ACS, said its rare to see third party benefits like this, where an individual puts on an event and donates the funds to ACS. Her office has been helping Homewood where they can by giving pointers on promotion, producing the tickets and getting the word out through the Relay For Life network, but their own fundraisers, such as Daffodil Days which runs through Feb. 24, must come first.
Homewood said she plans to rely mainly on the kindness of family and friends to get the event off the ground in March, but could use the support of some sympathetic strangers as well. Her husband and two friends will join her grandson in greeting guests and serving appetizers, while her daughter, who has a license to serve alcohol, will pour the beer and wine tastings. “I need more greeters, people for door drawings, ticket sales, donated items. I'm a woman with needs,” Homewood said.
For more information on volunteering for “Evening of Enchantment,” or for tickets, call Homewood at 509-475-7458.
Ryan Lancaster can be reached at [email protected].
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