5th Annual Wildlife Benefit Dinner
5th Annual Wildlife Benefit Dinner “Sunset in the Vines”
Join us for our 5th Annual Wildlife Conservation Benefit Dinner. This year we are hosting a hybrid virtual and physical event due to COVID-19 regulations and CDC guidelines. In-person attendance will be restricted to roughly 40% of the building occupancy. Seating will be assigned by tables this year to comply with State and CDC health and safety guidelines.
This year we are continuing our focus on our fundraising efforts for Animals Saving Animals, Anti-Poaching Ranger Training, and Community-Based Conservation Efforts.
When: October 11th
- VIP: 5:30pm Admission
- General: 6:15pm Admission
Where: Wilson Creek Winery, Temecula, California
Theme: 1920’s to 1930’s attire, “Gatsby” meets “Posh Khaki.”
Physical and Virtual Attendance Options Available
*Please note: We are offering “Family and Friend” group tables in 4, 6, 8, and 10 person options. We are offering these options for General and VIP Admission.
** For virtual attendance please purchase a “Virtual Participant” ticket to gain access to our amazing silent auction, which is 100% online. Bidding is live and registered bidders can compete for items on Qgiv, a system similar to Ebay. Virtual participants will be responsible for local pickup or shipping on won items.
EVENT MENU
Salad
Caesar Salad
Feta cheese / lemon anchovy dressing / pink peppercorns / Worcestershire croutons.
Dual Entree
Butcher’s Steak / Steelhead Salmon “Surf and Turf”
Marinated hanger steak with tarragon-peppercorn butter
Steelhead Salmon with a lobster veloute / smoked trout caviar
Garlic mashed potato’s / Chef’s choice of seasonal vegetables
Vegetarian/Vegan option
Vegetable Hash
Vegetable-potato hash / carrot and spinach purees
Dessert
Berries & Cream
Fresh seasonal berries / creme anglaise / whipped cream
Since 2014, GCF has been creating, training, equipping, and enhancing anti-poaching units across Africa and Asia. This has included the addition of K9 and equine rangers to dozens of anti-poaching units and reserves.
Wildlife protection is no simple task and it is expensive to maintain. We are able to greatly reduce the costs of training by using our own specialist instructors, which is something we pride ourselves on.
We continue to expand our K9 and equine operations to help more anti-poaching units get the necessary support to protect more animals.
In order to expand our efforts we are going to build a training facility for human, K9, and equine rangers. The facility location has been identified but we are short $13,000 in funding in order to complete the entire project. However, due to covid19 shutdowns around the world, we have not been able to start building yet.
Phase One) Build new K9 housing, training, rehabilitation, and retirement facility. We pride ourselves in the top quality gear, training, and care for our K9s. To be fully operational, we need to be able to support other units in need, have an emergency veterinary budget, budget for a GCF K9 trainer, and space for the retirement of our dogs.
– In progress, waiting for South African Authorities to allow construction to start.
Phase Two) Ranger Training Classroom that will double as a community education room. This classroom will be utilized by our instructors for government-level certifications in K9 handling, weapons certifications, and medical response training. This facility will double as a community wildlife education classroom during the downtime between training courses.
We hope engage more community members from the rural communities surrounding the national parks. We already sponsor dozens of field trips for hundreds of young children annually, but we would love to build capacity for more education outreach.
– In need of funding. This addition will cost us an additional $10,000.
Phase Three) Equine wing. We hope to raise enough funds to build a small stable, round pen, and fenced-in exercise area. To do this properly, we are going to partner with our long term field partners at Amakhala and find horses suitable for duty by trialing them with horseback ecotours. The stables and ecotours should allow us to hire at least 2 more local people from the community.
– In Progress, in need of $3,000 to build the housing for rangers in training and to allow ecotour visitors. Development paused due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in South Africa.