Wine is about coming together. It’s about family, friends, ideas, conversation and sharing. And at Dobbes Family Estate, we are committed to giving back to the community that gives us life. It’s an integral part of who we are as individuals, and so it has become an integral part of our business.
With a deep personal connection to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Northwest, Dobbes Family Estate and Wine By Joe owner Joe Dobbes is a past board member and donates proceeds annually to this organization from the sales of Wine By Joe wines. As a company, we also donate time and money to organizations like Salud, Classic Wines Auction, the Dundee Parent Club, Newberg Education Foundation, Doernbecher, Family Building Blocks and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
But there is no shortage of worthy causes out there, and we wanted to do more.
Dobbes Charitable Giving Program
During a company retreat brainstorming session, we attempted to decide on one additional organization to support in the name of Dobbes Family Estate.
Not surprisingly, we found that each individual wanted to support a different cause, and all were deserving. Thus came the dawn of our Dobbes Charitable Giving Program.
Each quarter, a different employee has the opportunity to select a cause that has special meaning to them. During that quarter we feature a wine and donate 10 percent of its sales to the chosen charity.
S.T.E.P.
Hello, my name is Derek Shedd and I am the Enologist for Dobbes Family Estate Winery. I am very happy for the opportunity to choose, for this quarter’s Dobbes Family Estate Winery “Giving Back” program, the organization to benefit from the sales of one of our fine wines.
The charity I have chosen is the Students in Transition Education Program (STEP). S.T.E.P. is a part of the Keizer-Salem School District, which is where I live and where my own son attended school. The program was created “to provide educational opportunities that enable homeless students and unaccompanied youth to achieve academic success and connect families with resources that support school and family stability.”
I have learned that every two minutes a child becomes homeless in America. As a parent, imagining a child enduring such a life is painful. S.T.E.P is a wonderful program that aims to provide food, transportation to and from school and tutoring to homeless children to keep them engaged with education. In addition, the program provides these students school supplies, referrals to Community Resources, and most importantly the support they need to succeed.
Education is a very valuable component to our lives and getting it requires lots of resources that are unavailable to homeless children. Looking back on my life I am not sure where I would have ended up without the education I received. I know that all of us can imagine what it must feel like for parents or homeless children to be without so many of the day to day resources required just to get your day started let alone off to school every day. So I’d like to help. Please join Dobbes Family Estates and myself in supporting the Students in Transition Education Program by purchasing our featured wine for this quarter.
Thank very much,
Derek Shedd
Our featured wine for this quarter is the 2008 Meyer Vineyard Pinot Noir. A portion of the sale of each bottle of this wine will be donated to support S.T.E.P and all that they do as advocates for the education of homeless children. Thank you again for your support.
