Vine to Wine Benefits a Kid's Place in Brandon

The Trey Curry Foundation hosted the sixth annual Vine to Wine benefit at The Regent in Riverview, where Mary Beth Curry said some 400 tickets had been sold, including 348 tickets in advance.

"Every thing from this event goes directly to A Kid's Place" in Brandon, said Curry's mother, Terry Curry, as the May 10 event was wrapping up in The Regent's grand ballroom.

The Trey Curry Foundation was founded in 2008 in memory of Clifton "Trey" Curry III, the son of longtime Brandon residents Terry and Clif Curry.

• See

"He would be absolutely blown way by this event," Terry Curry said in remembrance of her son. "He was the kid who was always bringing home people and telling us, 'You need to do this for this person.' He'd walk in here and he'd be amazed."

"In here" was the grand ballroom at The Regent, featuring an array of gourmet goodies prepared by Chef Dave West of the Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium in Brandon paired with an assortment of fine wines provided by Premier Beverage.

While munching and sipping, guests were invited to peruse tables of live and silent auction items, including a fishing trip to Key West courtesy of Bill Currie Ford; roundtrip airfare from Southwest Airlines, three days and two nights at The Resort and Club at Little Harbor in Ruskin, framed and autographed Tampa Bay Lightning gear, jewelry, gift certificates and more.

Tickets cost $75 and all funds raised were to go to A Kid’s Place in Brandon, a shelter for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment or neglect.

Terry Curry noted in the days leading up to the event that "Trey was always available to lend a helping hand, a listening ear, or just be a friend."

"It was never important to him where you lived or what your family did for a living," she added. "He wanted to befriend you if he felt you were a good person. Our family wants to carry on his tradition of helping those in need within our community through the works of the Trey Curry Foundation."

In 2012 a house at A Kid's Place was named and dedicated in honor of Trey Curry.

• See

The foundation also has donated funds to the Brandon Family YMCA, the Sylvia Thomas Center for Foster and Adoptive Families and the Brandon Emergency Care Help Organization.

In addition to the annual Vine to Wine event, the foundation hosts an annual fundraiser fishing tournament in November.