Phil Castle, The Business Times

The stories abound — about people who learn to ski, children who experience the outdoors and students who develop a love of reading.

And that’s just a few of the beneficiaries of the money the Junior Service League of Grand Junction raises through its annual Viva el Vino event and then distributes to nonprofit organizations in Mesa County.

Stephanie Plieness, chairwoman of the 2024 Viva el Vino, said it’s not only the amount of money the group raises that’s important, but also what that money means. “We’re touching individual lives. It’s not just a number.”

In addition to a variety of wines, Viva el Vino will feature cocktails and a beer garden with beers from the Palisade Brewing Co. Stray Grass, an acoustic Americana band from Grand Junction, will perform.

Viva el Vino also will include a silent auction. In addition to those attending the event, others can participate in the auction on a virtual basis through the Junior Service League website.

Plieness expects more than 200 people to attend the signature fund-raiser for the Junior Service League and raise as much money as possible for the nonprofits the organization supports that in turn provide services to women, children and families.

In December, the Junior Service League awarded a total of $30,000 in grants to 11 nonprofits. Since its inception in 1983, the Junior Service League has awarded more than $1.1 million in grants and provided more than 750,000 hours of community service.

The recipients of Junior Service League funding include Colorado Discover Ability,  the Colorado Canyons Association and Riverside Education Centers.

Sherry Schreiner, a member of the Colorado Discover Ability board of directors, said the Junior Service League has provided a dependable source of funding that supports programs that provide outdoor recreational opportunities for people with disabilities. That includes skiing and hockey programs in the winter, rafting and other water sports in the summer, adaptive cycling and adventure camps.

Schreiner said the programs foster independence and self-confidence in the participants, Schreiner said. That includes the client who learned not only how to ski, but also ski fast, as well as a young girl who discovered how much she enjoyed swimming.

Annie Carter, education programs manager with the Colorado Canyons Association, said funding supports efforts to foster the stewardship and awareness of  national conservation areas in Western Colorado, including the McInnis Canyons, Dominguez-Escalante and Gunnison Gorge national conservation areas.

Outreach and educational programs and events reach thousands of people each year, Carter said. Programs turn the national conservation areas into outdoor classrooms for students from Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties and offer them opportunities to experience the outdoors.

Funding from the Junior Service League will enhance those experiences for Spanish-speaking students, Carter said, by providing a translator and printing materials in Spanish.

Kayla Pool, a marketing specialist with the Riverside Education Centers, said funding supports an organization that provides academic and extracurricular activities for more than 1,100 kindergarten through 12th grade students in Mesa County. The organization operates 16 tutoring sites at Mesa County School District 51 schools.

Junior Service League funding helped provide what Pool called enrichment bins with materials and lesson plans for various activities.

While Riverside Education Centers has helped thousands of students, Pool said one comes to mind in a fourth grader who was experiencing difficulty reading. Tutoring turned frustration into enjoyment, Pool said. “Now she loves reading.”

Viva el Vino is set for 6 to 9 p.m. April 27 at the Wine Country Inn at 777 Grande River Drive in Palisade. Tickets sell for $100 and are available online at https://jslgj.com/viva-el-vino.