Wine Auction Raises $1.3 Million
Jun 13, 2018 10:04AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Clear skies, good friends, and fine wines were the order of the evening at the 24th annual Manhattan Wine Auction, which raised $1.3 million for the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation on Saturday night.
The event, held at the Manhattan Country Club, drew more than 2,000 attendees and featured foods from more than 40 restaurants as well as beverages from nearly 80 wineries, breweries, and distilleries.
The majority of the funds raised from this year’s event will
support MBEF’s endowment. The foundation has a goal of growing the endowment to $20 million by
the year 2020, at which time it will distribute $1 million annually to the Manhattan Beach public schools.
One of the highlights of the auction was the Paddle Raise, which brought in $165,000 to
fund the Visual Arts Initiative at MBUSD for the 2018/19 school
year. MBEF has identified enhancing and integrating visual arts into the Manhattan Beach public schools as a top priority among parents. Those who want to support the initiative are invited to
make a donation at any time.
Platinum sponsors of the event included Chevron, Belkin, Moss Adams, and Sherry-Lehmann.
The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation is a community driven fundraising organization, which supplements state funding for programs that inspire learning, enrich teaching, and promote innovation and academic excellence in the public schools of Manhattan Beach. MBEF seeks to close the gap between state funding for Manhattan Beach schools, and the cost of maintaining high-quality educational programming. In the 2018/19 school year, MBEF will fund $6.2 million to MBSUD to pay for 74 educators in grades K-12.
