Last Saturday, August 27, Summerland Winery showed once again that not only does it produce world-class wines, but that its owner, Bilo Zarif, has an enormous heart and knows how to throw quite the party. A sold-out crowd of 300 came to the Nesbitts’ Bella Vista Ranch in Summerland for Under the Harvest Sun, the 11th annual fundraiser. All net proceeds, $30,000, went to Just Imagine It and the Summerland School.
Just Imagine It is a nonprofit whose Santa Barbara chapter decorates rooms at Cottage Children’s Medical Center for children admitted for long-term care. The aim is to provide a positive atmosphere of hope, joy, and excitement. Operating from the premise that a happy patient is a healing patient, the nonprofit also hopes to aid in the child’s recovery.
The organization’s founder, interior designer Cami Wright, showed Zarif the organization’s work at Mattel Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. When Zarif saw how the children’s faces lit up when their rooms were decorated, he instantly decided to start a program in Santa Barbara. He enlisted the support of Berkshire Hathaway district manager Kyle Kemp, realtor Alexis Foth McCaw, and Jaynie Wood, child life specialist at Cottage Children’s Medical Center, and together they began the chapter at Cottage Hospital three and a half years ago. Every week, 7-10 rooms are decorated with themes based on questionnaire responses from the child’s family.