Residents Invited To Eat, Drink And Be Merry To Benefit Foster Families

By Kathy Collins

The Second Annual Vine To Wine event, which benefits foster children in the Tampa Bay area and A Kid’s Place, will be held on Saturday, October 17 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at The Palmetto Club, located at 17004 Dorman Rd. in Lithia. A 15-person committee has been hard at work for several months to ensure that it is “an evening extravaganza of sensational wine, spirits, great food, live music and fabulous auction items.”If you like food, wine, fun and the opportunity to support a local non-profit, then this event is for you. Ticket prices have been lowered this year to $50 per person. The entry fee allows attendees to sample delicacies provided by local restaurants and caterers. Local restaurants who have graciously agreed to provide samples include Della’s Delectables, Della’s After Dark, Chick-fil-A at Lake Brandon Village, Ms. Cyndi’s Corner Café and Jaymer-Que Southern BBQ and Beef ‘O ’Brady’s, just to name a few. Local catering companies which have agreed to provide food include Hats Off To Dining and The Catering Company.Along with food and wine, attendees will enjoy live entertainment provided by Tampa Bay’s Denise Moore and Then Some, saxophonist Gene Cannon and pianist Amanda Cooley. Attendees will also have the opportunity to bid on fabulous silent auction items such as a gas grill donated by TECO, a two night stay at the Trade Winds Resort, two roundtrip airline tickets from Southwest Airlines, a spa basket from Saddlebrook Resort and over $3,000 of wine. Sponsorship opportunities from $200 to $10,000  are available.Over 300 guests sampled food, wine and spirits last year. The event netted Kids Charity of Tampa Bay $22,000.Kids Charity of Tampa Bay, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose main focus and mission is to improve the quality of life for foster children and foster families. One of the community initiatives of Kids Charity of Tampa Bay was to build and maintain A Kid’s Place which is a state-of-the-art, 60 bed facility for abused, abandoned and neglected children. Kids Charity of Tampa Bay operates on less than three percent administration costs. The organization relies heavily on volunteers. Even the executive director is a volunteer. As such, event attendees can rest assured that their support of the event will be maximized to help children that have been abused, abandoned and neglected in our community.  DeDe Grundel is the executive director of Kids Charity of Tampa Bay. Grundel said, “The support from the Brandon community has been wonderful! We could not have opened A Kid’s Place without the donations both monetary and in-kind or the volunteer efforts that we have received.”If you would like more information about Kids Charity of Tampa Bay or would like to make a donation, purchase tickets to the Vine to Wine event or become a sponsor, you can visit the Website at www.kidscharitytb.com/events or call 843-1833.