If you’ve ever heard of the Napa Wine Auction, now into its 4th decade, you know what inspired us. The Napa Wine Auction supports charity, and this year we’re providing charitable contributions from our own silent and live auction to Slack Farms Foundation to support interns, especially those from Ukraine who just now cannot return home. Our intern program preceded the war on Ukraine but developed special meaning in the past year as Ukrainian students joined us. Our Ukrainian cohort, in the U.S. for academic programs, have found themselves without a home base and not always able to make best use of the time when they are not in school. Normally they would return to Ukraine during their school breaks, but the past year has been different for them.

The Slack Farms Foundation has already provided opportunities for eighteen Ukranians in preparatory schools and universities in America. Charitable donations are directed to make a difference in their lives, by allowing us to continue housing them during school breaks and developing practical skills which you can learn on farms. There is also this: the very important aspect of being part of a private and secluded place where they can discuss their dreams and hopes for themselves, as well as the challenges facing their families and their country.

As with all our interns, they’ve enriched our lives and we’d like you to be part of our extended family of supporters who offer these young, academically gifted Ukrainians the opportunity to continue their early development undeterred from the challenges they confront. These young Ukrainians are resilient and with our support and yours, we can help balance their lives. We are collectively and broadly their American family.