Benefiting Farmworkers’ Children
September 23, 2010 The 12th annual Benefit Auction sponsored by the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation raised $28,495 for the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, which provides education and child care services to children of Florida farmworkers. Auction items netted $15,495 and “Above and Beyond” donations contributed an additional $13,000.
“Florida agriculture is very fortunate to have an organization like RCMA,” said Sonia Tighe, foundation executive director. “The services and care provided by RCMA help improve the quality of life for the families of the employees who do the important work of planting and harvesting our crops.”
Money raised by the auction for RCMA will be matched by state and federal funds.
The Benefit Auction is held each year during FFVA’s Annual Convention, which took place this year at The Ritz-Carlton in Naples. Past auctions and donations have helped to support causes important to Florida agriculture and the people who make it possible, including the George F. Sorn Scholarship and the Hurricane Farmworker Relief Fund, which provided storm-resistant housing for farmworkers whose homes were damaged or destroyed during the 2004 hurricanes.
The Florida Specialty Crop Foundation was established in 1991 to address specialty crop growers’ scientific and knowledge needs in the production, marketing, transportation and consumption of fruits and vegetables. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, the foundation operates to benefit the Florida specialty crops industry and society as a whole. Specialty crop producers provide oversight to the foundation.
Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is an agricultural organization representing Florida’s producers of fruits, vegetables and other crops.