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Helping others is a taste of the d’Vine
Irene LaCesa of Barrington, d’Vine Affair committee member, with Msgr. Michael M. Boland, administrator, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago | Lee Litas~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 6, 2013 6:56PM
The Event: More than 400 wine aficionados got to sniff, swirl, sip and (importantly) spit out 300 different vintages at the 12th Annual d’Vine Affair at the Union League Club of Chicago on Jan. 27. Benefiting Catholic Charities’ Self-Sufficiency Programs, the fundraiser is considered one of the city’s premier wine tasting events and is definitely a fine way to spend a stormy winter afternoon in Chicago, with private wine tours and seminars geared at refining wine-lovers’ palates.
Cause célèbre: “(The event’s) entire focus is to help us raise funds to help people move from a state of dependency to a state of self-sufficiency,” said Msgr. Michael M. Boland, CEO, president and administrator of Catholic Charities. “This event really focuses on our Lake County Self-Sufficiency Program.” There, Catholic Charities is providing stable housing for 200-300 women and assisting them with finishing their education and upgrading their job skills so they can move to complete self-sufficiency in a few years.
“This event is not to give away but to help,” said volunteer Michelle Glunz whose parents, Joseph and Helen Glunz, owners of Louis Glunz Wines, founded the d’Vine Affair 12 years ago. “My father always said ‘you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or you can teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime.’ That is very important to our family and really what this event is about.”
And Joseph Imperato, co-chairman for four years, stressed that: “The accomplishments are concrete. People have had their lives completely turned around as a result of the money raised here today. It’s a joy to participate knowing that you’re really benefiting people who need help.”
Bottom line: The event raised nearly $100,000 for CC’s Self-Sufficiency Programs bringing the 12-year total to nearly $1 million.
