Home Industry News Releases Alpha Omega Foundation Raises $100,000 for Wildfire Relief

Alpha Omega Foundation Raises $100,000 for Wildfire Relief

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Napa Valley Nonprofit Presents 100% of Funds to Napa Valley Community Foundation and Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department

RUTHERFORD, Calif. (Jan. 30, 2017) – The Alpha Omega Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Alpha Omega winery in Napa Valley, announced today that it raised $100,000 for Napa Valley wildfire relief. Alpha Omega vintners Robin and Michelle Baggett, the foundation’s Executive Director, presented checks for 100% of those funds to the Napa Valley Community Foundation’s (NVCF) Disaster Relief Fund and the Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department at the family-owned winery in Rutherford on Tuesday. NVCF President Terence Mulligan accepted a $95,000 check and Volunteer Chief Davie Piña received a $5,000 check for his fire department.

The Alpha Omega Foundation collected donations from Alpha Omega Wine Club members and winery supporters and sold buy-a-spot seats for $500 each to its Big Bottle Benefit BBQs, to be held at Alpha Omega on July 27 and July 28, 2018 to reach its $100,000 fundraising goal. Several of the purchasers earmarked seats at the two events, which are being underwritten by the winery, for first responders.

Michelle Baggett said, “During the fires, we had an outpouring of concern from our Wine Cub members and customers with many asking, ‘How can we help?’ My heart told me that we had to give our Alpha Omega friends the opportunity to support our community. We created a goal of donating $100,000 as quickly as possible since the needs were immediate. This was a family effort of friends of Alpha Omega, and we are so grateful to be able to support the Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department and the Napa Valley Community Foundation with these two checks.”

“With this extraordinary gift from the Alpha Omega Foundation, we will be able to support hundreds of local residents who are still struggling to recover from the October wildfires,” Mulligan said.

Piña added, “These funds are greatly appreciated and will go directly toward buying supplies and tools for the firehouse to improve training and preparation for the next fire.”

The wildfires broke out the evening of Oct. 8, 2017, the final day of the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open in Napa Valley. Alpha Omega donated 10% of its tasting room wine sales ($10,000) during the tournament to Samaritan’s Purse, a faith-based disaster relief agency that responded to Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Jose after the Baggetts were inspired by PGA Tour members Chesson Hadley and his wife, Amanda, who stayed with the vintners during the tournament, and Scott Brown and his wife, Allison.

“Little did we know that our community would be devastatingly impacted by wildfires and that our calling to help communities rebuild after a natural disaster would continue on in our own neighborhood,” Michelle Baggett said.

In addition to joining forces with several Napa Valley wineries to donate 100% of tasting fees on Oct. 22, 2017 to the NVCF’s Community Disaster Relief Fund, Alpha Omega helped raise thousands of dollars for Operation BBQ Relief (OBR), a 501(c)(3) disaster relief organization, and provided 10 BBQ units and the Baggett BBQ Team to help prepare more than 30,000 meals for emergency personnel and evacuees during the wildfires via OBR’s Napa outpost.

“Besides providing 33,000 meals to first responders during the October wildfires, everyone at Alpha Omega wanted to do a little more to help those still recovering from the wildfires,” Robin Baggett said.

The Baggetts also made a personal donation of $25,000 to the Tipping Point Emergency Relief Fund, benefitting Napa & Sonoma Relief. In 2015, Alpha Omega helped raise $100,000 for Lake County residents affected by the Valley Fire.

Napa Valley Community Foundation President Terence Mulligan (left) and Volunteer Chief Davie Piña of the Rutherford Volunteer Fire Department receive checks totaling $100,000 from Alpha Omega vintners Michelle and Robin Baggett (right) at Alpha Omega. Courtesy Alpha Omega

About the Alpha Omega Foundation

The Alpha Omega Foundation, founded in 2016, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire and encourage charitable giving in the next generation of Napa Valley’s leaders. The Foundation supports organizations and initiatives that energize the Valley with a sense of responsibility for building on a strong tradition of goodwill and aims to empower all people and visionary companies to realize their value to philanthropic causes. The Foundation does not use any donated funds for administrative or fundraising costs; therefore, 100% of all monies raised go directly toward our mission. www.aowinery.com/Philanthropy

About the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund

The Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund is managed by Napa Valley Community Foundation and was established with a $10 million lead gift from Napa Valley Vintners following the 2014 South Napa Earthquake. After all phases of quake-related relief, recovery and rebuilding programs concluded in 2016, the Napa Valley Community Disaster Relief Fund had a balance of approximately $2.5 million, which was the starting point for current relief and recovery efforts for the Napa Fire Complex. Since the Fund was re-activated on October 10, 2017, nearly $14 million has been contributed by 20,000 individual, corporate and foundation donors in California, the US and abroad. Growers and vintners in Napa Valley have contributed significantly to assist those affected by the October wildfires, and their generosity has inspired their many friends, customers and partners to get involved, as well. Thus far, $4 million has been distributed from the Fund to provide 15,000 fire survivors with services and nearly 1,900 households with direct cash assistance. The most recent grant approved by the Fund, of up to $3 million, will support the Napa Fire Recovery Center and its clients. www.napavalleycf.org

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