PEI Kids Hosts 8th Annual Food and Wine Tasting Fundraiser

West Trenton, NJ—On the evening of Friday, October 18, 2013, PEI Kids hosted its 8^th Annual Food and Wine Tasting Fundraiser in an aircraft hangar at Ronson Aviation, Inc., which is a part of Mercer County Airport. Over 150 people attend the event to enjoy food and wine from over 20 food and wine vendors, including top vendor Shoprite Liquors of Pennington, and to view exotic and luxury cars provided by Interstate Motorsport and aircraft provided by Ronson Aviation. Top sponsors for the event were Frontier Airlines and Ventura Wealth Management. The event raised over $ 20,000 for PEI Kids child abuse prevention and intervention services.

“The event was a complete success,” says Ventura Wealth Management President and PEI Kids Board of Trustees President Nicholas Ventura. “As this was our 8^th Annual Food and Wine Tasting Fundraiser, we certainly raised the bar in terms of fundraising and community support for years to come.”

Sponsors of the event included Frontier Airlines, Ventura Wealth Management, AAA Mid-Atlantic, an anonymous donor, Nola Rooney Bencze and Thurman Jay Gates, The Tuchman Foundation, Chris and Denise Pratico, Delectabell Management, Inc. dba Taco Bell, Educational Testing Service (ETS), The Mercadien Group, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, RedEye, MDAdvantage, and Keith Smith and Karan Falco. Event food vendors included Café 72, Café Mulino, Cairo Cakes, Chuckles, Cuginos Italian Specialties of Pennington, El Taco Loco, El Tule, Fabulous Feast Catering, It’s Nutts Restaurant, Leonardo’s II, Mama Flora’s Trattoria, Maddalena’s Cheesecakes, Mikonos Restaurant, The Pind, Villa Rosa, Trader Joe’s, and Yahweh. Wine and beer vendors at the event included Shop Rite Liquors of Pennington and River Horse Brewing Company. Exotic and Luxury cars on display were provided by Interstate Motorsport, and aircraft for display were provided by Ronson Aviation, Inc.

“We’ve been providing wine samplings to PEI Kids’ Wine and Food Tasting Fundraiser for years,” says Manager of Shoprite Liquors of Pennington Joe Grinbaum. “PEI Kids is a wonderful organization, and the services that it provides to families and children in need within our community are essential. We are always happy to support them in this venture.”

To learn how you can participate in PEI Kids’ annual Food and Wine Tasting Fundraiser next year, please call 609-695-3739 or email information@peikids.org  

About PEI Kids

PEI Kids’ aspiration for the children of Mercer County, NJ, is “Safe Kids, Sound Futures.” Currently serving approximately 16,000 children and their families each year, the nonprofit organization began in 1985 when, while working at a rape crisis center, its founders discovered there were no local services tailored for children who had been sexually abused. For the past 28 years, its mission has been dedicated to promoting and maintaining a safe environment for all children. Its services have expanded to include engaging, developmentally appropriate and culturally diverse Prevention/Education and Intervention programs relating to personal safety; physical and sexual abuse; understanding physical and educational differences; school safety and bullying; anger management; gang prevention; and the overall well-being of the child and family. The County Prosecutor’s Office refers 100% of child sexual abuse victims to PEI Kids, and it is currently the lead agency of the Greater Mercer Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse. PEI Kids also provides client services to foster care children and their biological families, supervising more than 1,600 family visits each year and transporting foster children and family members to visitations, and medical and other important appointments. To learn more about PEI Kids’ many programs and services for Mercer County children and families, and how you can support its efforts by volunteering or donating, please call 609-695-3739 or visit www.peikids.org. All calls regarding possible abuse are confidential.