Napa Valley charity event raises $6 million for cancer research

A charity begun by a famed basketball coach who died from cancer reports it’s raised $6.5 million from a weekend fundraiser in the Napa Valley.

The annual V Foundation Wine Celebration, which took place Thursday through Sunday, was hosted by Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski, former Duke University men’s basketball coach,and Devon Still, former NFL defensive end and 2015 Jimmy V Perseverance Award winner.

The foundation carries on the cause of James Thomas Anthony “Jimmy V” Valvano who died of cancer in 1993. A successful basketball coach with a 1983 NCCA Division I men’s basketball title, in 1993, suffering from terminal cancer, he delivered a memorable speech at the ESPN Espy Awards which included the sustaining message was, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”

Fundraising for the foundation raising money for cancer research under Valvano’s name included an auction of wines. Top lot, the organizers stated, was six Liters of Screaming. The gavel came down at $270,000 for a lot featuring a 1992 6-liter bottle of Screaming Eagle, one of two ever produced, organizers stated. The lot was purchased by Gary Jabara, new owner of the Estate Yountville, the Wine Celebration Weekend’s host headquarters.

The V Foundation reports it has awarded more than $290 million in cancer research grants nationwide. The V Foundation distributes research grants for all types of cancer to the most promising scientists nationwide through a competitive process vetted by a Scientific Advisory Committee.