North Bay residents have spent the days since Monday morning, October 9, experiencing terror, loss, and heartbreak. They’ve been fighting fires with garden hoses, preparing their homes against the onslaught of raging flames, and waiting in evacuation centers for news of loved ones and updates regarding the survival of their homes. In the past few days, firefighters battling blazes in Napa and Sonoma counties have continued to make gains, with containment numbers increasing. When the fires are quenched begins the road toward recovery.
In an effort to help rebuild their local community, Natalie and Vinnie Cilurzo, owners of Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing Company, have partnered with former professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge Foundation to launch the charitable endeavor Sonoma Pride. The campaign will raise funds through direct donations to the King Ridge Foundation, sales of Sonoma Pride beer (to be released on October 31) and $25 donations for a chance to win Pliny the Younger line-cutting privileges in 2018.

The Sonoma Pride donation site, which has already realized over $162,959 in charitable contributions, will continue to collect and distribute funds through December; 100 percent of proceeds will be donated to victims of the Sonoma County wildfires.
Commenting on the Sonoma Pride campaign, Natalie Cilurzo says, “It was important to Vinnie and me to partner with a local non-profit that would ensure the money raised stays in Sonoma County…one with no overhead or administrative fees so all of the money goes directly to the wildfire victims.”
As part of this fundraising effort, Russian River Brewing Company has invited breweries from across Sonoma County and around the world to create beers under the Sonoma Pride label. Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg was the first to sign on for the collaboration.