Good Neighbor Council Hosts Wine and Cheese Fundraiser for Del Rio Scholarships

The International Good Neighbor Council of Del Rio brought together civic leaders, educators and local business partners Friday evening for a night of Italian-themed food and wine at the Enchanted Jardin Event Center, 4934 U.S. Highway 90, with Del Rio student scholarships squarely on the line.

The sixth edition of the group's annual Wine and Cheese Scholarship Fundraiser, promoted under the theme "Experience a Taste of Italy," got underway at 6 p.m. on March 27. The format paired curated wines and cheeses with a scholarship auction, a structure the IGNC has refined over six years into its primary engine for generating student aid in Val Verde County.

IGNC President Andrew Scarbo has called the wine and cheese fundraiser the organization's single biggest scholarship revenue source, and its continued growth reflects deepening investment from Del Rio's business community, which supplies corporate sponsorships alongside individual ticket buyers each year.

The proceeds target post-secondary access for Del Rio students, including those pursuing four-year degrees, community college programs and vocational certifications, pathways that can require students to travel far beyond Val Verde County and carry costs that local scholarship dollars help offset.

The fundraiser is one of two major scholarship efforts the IGNC runs annually. The organization also administers the 76-year-old Miss Del Rio Pageant, which this year offered six scholarships and three cash prizes to contestants competing in January. Together, the two events form a year-round scholarship pipeline for Del Rio youth that few civic organizations in the region can match.

The Enchanted Jardin, a venue on the western stretch of U.S. 90 that has hosted a growing number of Del Rio's civic gatherings, provided the backdrop for Friday's networking as much as the fundraising. Those conversations between donors, school leaders and community members often produce commitments that extend well past a single event cycle.

Final scholarship totals and this year's award recipients are expected to be announced by IGNC in the coming weeks.