[Click here for a Noozhawk photo gallery from the event.]
Stunning views of the Pacific Ocean from a bluff in Summerland delighted a jubilant group of nearly 400 supporters at the 12th Annual Taste of the Vine, one of Santa Barbara’s premier fundraisers hosted by Sansum Diabetes Research Institute at the QAD business center.
The venue featured live music, silent and live auctions with The Fund for Santa Barbara Executive Director Geoff Green, and a variety of food, fine wine and beer from more than 30 of the Central Coast’s best purveyors.
“Here in Santa Barbara County there are approximately 40,000 people with diabetes, and we serve those folks with diabetes self-management and education,” SDRI Executive Director Rem Laan said. “And we also care for women with gestational diabetes to help them deliver healthy babies with no complications to either mother or child.”
Dr. William Sansum founded the institute in 1944 and was the first U.S. physician to produce insulin to a patient in Santa Barbara, in 1922. His legacy and endeavor to find a cure for people with diabetes continues to be the cornerstone of this important nonprofit organization today.
SDRI is recognized worldwide for its cutting-edge research in technology, treatment and outreach programs, including youth educational programs that increase awareness and prevent diabetes, and the Artificial Pancreas Project, designed to eliminate high and low levels of blood sugar detected in patients.
Kara Hornbuckle, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 6 years old, reached out to the knowledgeable team of doctors at SDRI when she became pregnant three years ago with her son, Lucas.
Hornbuckle told Noozhawk how she was concerned about her unborn child’s well-being and decided to participate in the institute’s specialized clinical treatment program for pregnant women with diabetes.
“My pregnancy with Lucas was just amazing,” Hornbuckle said. “They helped me to achieve my blood sugar levels at a normal range so that my blood sugar levels were the same or comparable to a person who was not diabetic and pregnant at the same time. Sansum Diabetes has just been amazing, and when Lucas was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes they were the first person that I called.”
Gifts to preserving Sansum’s legacy can also be made in other ways, such as bequests, life income trusts and gift annuities. To learn more about these and other giving opportunities, call the Development Department at 805.682.7638 for a confidential conversation with a planned giving director.
All of the estimated proceeds, more than $108,000, will benefit the programs that treat, prevent and cure diabetes in Santa Barbara County for the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes in children and adults.
The Sansum Diabetes Research Institute graciously thanks the 2013 sponsors of Taste of the Vine:
» Estate Sponsor: Rabobank, N.A.
» Magnum: Bialis Family Foundation , Thomas Crawford Jr. and Nancy Crawford , Jim and Amy Sloan
» Champagne: Henry Bull Foundation , Bradley Herrema, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Foley Family Wines , Montecito Bank & Trust , Angelina Trujillo, M.D., and the Inserra family
» Pinot: Coeta & Donald Barker Foundation and Union Bank
» Cabernet: Anchor Point IT Systems , the Boyd family , Tim and Louise Casey, Cottage Health System , Alexander DePaoli, M.D., MichaelKate Interiors and Eyman Parker Insurance Brokers
» Chardonnay: Allen and Kimbell, LLP Anthony’s Christmas Trees and Wreaths, Inc. , Oswald Da Ros, Damitz, Brooks, Nightengale, Turner, & Morrisset First Republic Wealth Management , Christopher Haskell and Price, Postel & Parma LLP Lewis Plumbing , Douglas and Corrie McRae, MarBorg Industries , Pamme Mickelson and Steve Windhager, Ph.D., Rem and Sally Laan, Schipper Construction Co. , Ayesha Shaikh, M.D., Sharon Kennedy Estate Management Summerl and Publishing, Gerald Svedlow, M.D., and Pedersen Architects LLP.
— Noozhawk iSociety columnist Melissa Walker can be reached at mwalker@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkSociety, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.
