LOS ANGELES—Join CASA LA for its third annual Wine + Art fundraiser, featuring 10 wineries and 126 artists, benefiting abused and neglected foster children in Los Angeles County.

CASA of Los Angeles is a nonprofit group that has been recruiting, training and managing volunteers to aid foster children for over three decades. CASAs deal with a wide range of challenges that affect Los Angeles’ 30,000 children in the dependency court system, aiding in family reunification, education, medical issues, housing, and adoption. CASAs provide an often life-saving impact on the lives of foster youth.

“We are ecstatic to be offering an event where artists concerned about child abuse and neglect right here in Los Angeles County can partner with us and engage our local community to raise awareness and funding for the invaluable services CASAs provide,” said CASA/LA CEO Wende Nichols-Julien.

CASA Wine+Art will feature 10 wineries and 126 artists, taking place on Saturday, February 25, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at WerkArtz, 1667 N. Main Street. WerkArtz is a contemporary, vibrant and creative Downtown LA art space where guests can view and bid on the curated collection.

Featured artists who have donated their work include Robert Standish, Deedee Cheriel, Sage Vaughn, Shephard Fairey, Andrea Bogdan and Jason Pearson.

Jason Pearson remarked, “After working with nonprofits on the orphan crisis, I learned that there are more than 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, with 26,000 aging out each year. As an artist, this is an issue that has touched my heart and become a theme of my oil paintings. It is a privilege to join with CASA/LA to bring awareness to the lives of foster kids in L.A. County.”

Participating wineries will offer tastes of California wines and as well as tips for enjoying the next glass of wine even more.

Tickets are $50, and all proceeds from ticket sales and the art auction will benefit CASA of Los Angeles. Sponsors of the event include Capital Group, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Angeleno Magazine and Werkartz. Tickets are available for purchase at http://casala.org/wineart/.

CASA LA was founded in 1978, CASA of Los Angeles (www.casala.org) is a community-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize community volunteers to advocate on behalf of the 30,000 abused and neglected children in the overburdened foster care system of Los Angeles County. Judges appoint CASA LA volunteers to work one-on-one with the most serious cases of abuse and neglect to help the children through the court system and reach the appropriate social services. Studies have shown that children with CASAs receive more assistance and support than children without, and are more likely to be adopted or returned to their families and less likely to reenter the child welfare system.

Written By Dan Hanley