This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
Napa Valley crying out for volunteers
Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) is urging wineries to sign up to new scheme VolunteerNapa and dedicate 24 hours of time to help plug a gap in volunteers in the US wine region.
Winemakers’ group Napa Valley Vintners said it has “identified the need for more volunteerism” in Napa, and is rallying wineries to contribute more to their community.
“The last four years has seen a decline in volunteerism due to disasters and the COVID pandemic,” said Ines DeLuna, director of the Centre for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL), which has a branch in Napa Valley. “As many non-profits have reopened their doors and in-person services and programmes, the need for volunteers is growing in order to meet the needs of those they serve.”
25 Napa wineries have already signed up to the newly minted VolunteerNapa programme, including Spottswoode, Knights Bridge Winery and Groth Vineyards & Winery, each of which has pledged to donate a minimum of 24 hours of active community service.
“We realised that the local wine industry can have an impact in helping to fill this need for volunteers,” said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of Napa Valley Vintners. “It’s a great programme and there has already been a positive response. In Napa Valley we know that when we work together, we can achieve more.
“By leveraging their resources and expertise, vintner companies can make a tangible difference in addressing the needs and challenges faced by the community.”
Launched in 1944, trade association Napa Valley Vintners has in the realm of 550 members, and has invested more than US$230 million towards providing equal access to healthcare and education in the local community.
In db’s Big Interview with Linda Reiff, she explained that NVV has been “instrumental in the success of OLE Health, which provides discounted or even free healthcare” for farm workers and their families “whether or not the person is a US citizen.
“We want to continue to make the Napa Valley name mean something, so we are both on the offence and the defence.”
Meanwhile, Napa producers are still recovering four years on from the devastating Glass Fire of September 2020. Read more about how wineries are restoring their vineyards here.