Ponzi Vineyards supports local scholarship fund

Each month Ponzi Vineyards supports a different local charity by donating a portion of the proceeds from tasting fees. In June we featured LIVE, Inc. We are proud to share that our donation will help fund a scholarship for first-generation students enrolled in the Wine Studies Program at Chemeketa Community College.

LIVE supports environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing through third-party certification and education. Since 2000, all four Ponzi Vineyard sites have been certified by the organization.

From LIVE:

Al MacDonald/LIVE Wine Studies Scholarship Fund

The Oregon wine industry employs many promising young people of color. Our goal is to provide assistance to first-generation students enrolled in the Wine Studies Program at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. Funds will be used to help defray tuition costs and other educational expenses. Participating students must enroll or be enrolled in classes and make consistent progress toward their degrees or certificates in the Wine Studies Program.

Donations will be generously matched up to the $5000 milestone by Al MacDonald, one of the founders of both LIVE and the Wine Studies Department at Chemeketa Community College. This scholarship has been named to honor his lifetime of service in education and sustainable agriculture.

Donations above the $10,000 milestone will be used to further fund this scholarship, and to establish similar endowments at other community colleges with wine studies programs in the Pacific Northwest.

LIVE is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that promotes environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing practices in the Pacific Northwest. Our third-party certification of vineyards and wineries is internationally recognized as the gold standard for sustainable winegrowing programs.

Questions about this scholarship or about sustainable agriculture can be emailed to LIVE Executive Director Chris Serra at chris@livecertified.org.

Donate directly to this fund >>