[jwplatform zWYwVfd5]
One of the hottest tickets of the year is here at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park – the 2015 Greenwich WINE + FOOD Festival. And while guests enjoy food and drink from over 100 vendors, they are also raising their glasses for a great cause.
“It has grown so much. It really has. From the celebrity support to the local support, it is really amazing,” said Suni Unger, CEO and Founder of Serendipity Magazine and the Greenwich WINE + FOOD Festival.
Proceeds from the event benefited the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp founded by Paul Newman and the Greenwich Parks and Recreation Scholarship Fund.
“The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in its essence is a community that celebrates the spirit of childhood,” said Maria Gomez, Director of Annual Giving for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. “Through year round programs, we provide a different kind of healing to seriously ill children and their families completely free of charge.”
Camp volunteer Natalie Vetro has seen firsthand what the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is truly about. “I had leukemia as a child and I was a camper at Hole in the Wall from 1988 to 1994. Back at home I was one of the only children in my school who had cancer so when I went to camp, it really helped me see that there were other children who were just like me. It really gave me a really empowering feeling that I could do anything and I could be anyone and it was just great to share those experiences with other kids.”
And the camp has touched thousand of lives since it’s inception.
“We started out serving 288 children through a single summer camp in Ashford, Conn and because people answered the call, including the Greenwich community, we are now serving 25,000 children and family members each year. That is not only at the camp but in their neighborhoods, in the hospitals and in their homes,” said Gomez.
Organizers say while guests are sampling everything from sweets to savory meats, they feel good knowing they are impacting the lives of kids.
“We get so much support from the culinary world because many of them have their own charities, they get it and they want to be apart of it and with us and they are excited. It makes it all worth it and you know when you are paying for your ticket that it is going to something really good,” said Unger.
“You want people to remember that there are people who are less fortunate and in particular with the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp we’re talking about children. That is something that I hold close to my heart as a parent with 5 children. You want to think that people, whether they are parents are not, really take to heart causes that support children,” said Chef Erik Erilchson of Bistro Versailles in Greenwich.
“It truly changed my life. I love Paul Newman and everyone associated with the camp,” added Vetro. “It really is magical. There are kids who look forward to it all year and if they are like me, they cry heading home because it is a magical place. It really transforms you and gives you a great outlook on life.”
The Greenwich WINE +FOOD festivities wrap up tonight with a performance from CMA and Grammy Award winners Little Big Town. For more information about the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, visit www.holeinthewallgang.org.
