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Pinot Days Auction Beneficiary: Tanzania Women’s Sewing Project
Every year Pinot Days supports a different charity through the OCMC. Last year we raised $12,000 for the Georges’ Family Relief Effort. The Georges have headed up the building and operation of free medical facilities, a school and an orphanage in war-torn Uganda. This was made possible by our pinot producers, and their generous donations to the Pinot Days Auction.
This year we aim to raise at least $10,000 for The Tanzanian Women’s Sewing Project, which is a new trade school for destitute African women (the majority of them mothers), the work of which will enable these women to sustain themselves and their families, empowering them for economic independence within a system of poverty and disease.
The people of Tanzanian live in conditions that are the near opposite of those in which Americans live. Life expectancy is 50 years of age. Fatal diseases include Aids, Typhoid Fever, Malaria, and Schistosomiasis (water contact disease). 1.6 million Tanzanian people are living with HIV/Aids. The infant mortality rate is 72 per 1,000. 36% of the population lives below the poverty line.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, which accounts for more than 40% of GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs 80% of the work force. But topography and climatic conditions limit cultivated crops to only 4% of the land area. Industry traditionally featured the processing of agricultural products and light consumer goods. The annual GDP per capita is $1,100.
There is hope. The World Bank, the IMF, and bilateral donors have provided funds to rehabilitate Tanzania's out-of-date economic infrastructure and to alleviate poverty. Long-term growth through 2005 featured a pickup in industrial production and a substantial increase in output of minerals led by gold. Recent banking reforms have helped increase private-sector growth and investment. Continued donor assistance and solid macroeconomic policies supported real GDP growth of nearly 7% in 2007.
And people care. The fact that you’re reading this is testimony. At the Pinot Days Auction, our pinot producers generously donate wine and pinot-related experiences, and you bid on them and feel good not only about your winnings, but about your contribution, your ability to give in light of how much we all have, and how very much others lack. Thanks in advance for your support.
Pinot Days Grand Tasting Auction Beneficiary: Operation and Expansion of Pinot Days
The proceeds from the Pinot Days Grand Tasting Auction will support the ongoing operation and expansion of Pinot Days. Pinot Days is a U.S. government-recognized non-profit whose mission is to advance and promote domestic Pinot Noir. We do this by creating opportunities for pinot producers to pour their wines both to the public and the buying trade, and by writing about pinot noir and publishing our articles on the Pinot Days website. Monies raised to support Pinot Days are used to cover event production costs, expansion to other U.S. cities (New York, Chicago, and eventually Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Las Vegas), the Pinot Days Newsletter (which we will publish monthly when funds permit), the creation and production of smaller Pinot Days events throughout the year such as winemaker dinners, thematic tastings, and the continued development of our website, which is an educational resource, providing a wealth of information regarding pinot-producing wineries, regions and appellations, clones and other specific information that is essential to fully appreciate pinot noir.
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