It started for me with a conversation.

I am a Puente mentor, which means I volunteer a very small part of my time to lend an ear to a community college student, working to make the transition to college and then to the four-year a process by which the students see success and are dedicated to returning to their community--our community--as professionals themselves. As I liked to say when I was a Puente teacher, Puente por Vida -- Puente for Life.

So, there I was having a conversation with my mentee, and she shared that her father had recently received a raise to acknowledge his twenty-fifth year at the winery where he worked. I said that that was fantastic and asked what he was now making.

Fourteen dollars an hour.

Now, this isn't a small mom-and-pop place up in Chiles or Pope Valley; this is a major winery whose owner quite successfully operates several large, international establishments. And this isn't someone who only knows how to pick fruit (though if you've ever done it for more than an hour, you know it's no fun, either); her father helps to manage both the vineyards and the cellar. And we're not talking about inexpensive wines; the average bottle price is north of $50, and they've been there a long time.

I realized I couldn't do anything about that particular situation. But I could try something... Different.

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NVC Puente Program 2009-10: A beneficiary of Stein Family Wines' philanthropic efforts.


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