Today Mr. Riggs Wine Co. celebrated its enduring relationship with the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation after reaching its $100,000 donation milestone. For 10 years, Mr. Riggs has been contributing funds from sales of its popular wine, The Gaffer McLaren Vale Shiraz, to boost the foundation’s resources to find a cure for cancer.
To celebrate this milestone, Mr. Riggs also donated the proceeds from one bottle of The Gaffer sold (from every dozen) during the month of October 2014, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today the foundation’s leading researcher Dr Michael Michael, its executive director Debbie Palmer, and events and partnerships manager Georgie Reid attended a wine tasting and lunch where a cheque for $5000 was presented by winemaker Ben (Mr.) Riggs.
Ben says, “We’re so proud of The Gaffer – this top drop has enabled us to contribute to the foundation, wearing its flashy pink cap, for a decade.” Ben and the foundation’s leading research Dr Michael Michael have been joint ambassadors and friends for 10 years.
During October last year, Mr. Riggs ran a Facebook promotion called “Women Worth Celebrating”, which called for people to nominate a woman who deserved recognition. “We were overwhelmed with the amount of entries we received – there are so many amazing women out there!” says Ben Riggs. Each day in October, Mr. Riggs Wine Co. gave away Haigh’s chocolates and a bottle of The Gaffer Shiraz to one Woman Worth Celebrating. It was a remarkable display of community gratitude for the dedication and resilience of the women in our lives.
Ben (Mr.) Riggs wholeheartedly supports the continual effort to raise funds for the Flinders Medical Research Foundation after losing dear friend and Mr. Riggs brand manager, Kym Pilkington (who propelled the original pink cap Gaffer campaign), to cancer. Since then, Mr. Riggs’ support for this cause has grown stronger, and support from its local and interstate restaurants and retailers has been outstanding.
Mr. Riggs would like to thank everyone who took part in the “Women Worth Celebrating” campaign in October last year and all those who have purchased The Gaffer with the intention to donate funds to Flinders Medical Research Foundation. Mr. Riggs encourages all to champion this great cause and enjoy a glass of one of McLaren Vale’s finest Shiraz wines.
More News
