St. Margaret’s
“Wine into Water”

Palm Desert, CA

Meredith Hardy, Congregational Ministry Partner at St. Margaret’s in Palm Desert, CA hosted a “Wine into Water” silent auction to fundraise for Episcopal Relief & Development at her church this February. Their goal was to raise enough money to build and maintain a well in one of our partner communities without access to clean water.

Eighteen volunteers made beautiful hors d’oeuvres, festooned the church halls in red and purple and set up long tables of donated wines for sale. Each table was named for one of the countries in which Episcopal Relief & Development builds wells in partnership with local communities, along with a water-related photo from that country.

Almost 100 people donated wine, and others donated funds. Sue Bennet, a member of the congregation at St. Margaret’s, says the “enthusiasm for this first time Episcopal Relief fundraising event at our church was contagious.”

Altogether, they raised over $50,000 — enough to give well systems and clean water to a community.