Wine for Humankind – Steve & Kelly Jones

Kelly Jones has always regarded Santa Clarita as her hometown, and even if she and her husband live in Paso Robles now, she has always loved coming back down to the valley and helping to fundraise or organize charitable events. When Steven and Kelly first met at the College of the Canyons institute of Culinary Education, they were both enrolled in the Wine Studies program and equally devoted to becoming Sommeliers. They soon fell in love and got married in 2019, moving to Paso shortly after in 2020. The couple bonded over their shared love for wine and their unwavering dedication to the community which helped raise them.
After they both received their certifications, they began to develop ideas for a wine related charity and in doing research, the couple discovered that Americans roughly spend $78.4 billion a year on wine. If even a small portion of that could be given to assist charity, Steven and Kelly could see it making a huge difference for their community. They knew if just 5% of these wine purchases were made through the Humanity Wine Project, it would generate over $196 million dollars in donations just for humanitarian causes.
With the idea for the Humanity Wine Project steadily growing, by April of 2022 their first vintage was officially released.
The grapes for their specialty wines are sourced locally from small boutique wineries through California in order to support small business and showcase the very best from the state. The Project works by pledging 50% of their profits back to selected charities, including the WISH Education Foundation and Circle of Hope. And each of the labels are designed to support a different charitable cause, with their very first flagship label being Faithful meant for supporting animals.
In the last year they partnered with the Redwings Horse Sanctuary and the Charles Paddock Zoo for events and fundraising under their Faithful label, helping to raise donations for care and treatment of animals. Their other labels include Innocence which focuses on charities for children, Fortitude for humanitarian healthcare causes, and Compassion for seniors, the homeless, and mental health related charities. On their website, customers have the option of selecting any of the charities they partner with to receive donations, and Project Ally wine club members enjoy special perks and discounts.
In just the Santa Clarita Valley, they have poured for The WISH Education Foundation’s Cars Under the Stars and Share the Love fundraising events, as well as the Circle of Hope’s Vine 2 Wine tasting and the Spirits of the Holidays dinner benefiting the Real Way Foundation. The public benefit company was also able to donate wine for the 38th Annual Teacher Tribute Dinner and the SCV 40 Under Forty Gala. Closer to Paso, they have poured at the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival benefiting the Charles Paddock Zoo and the Dining with the Arts Gala for the Paso Robles Youth Arts Center.
You can find their Innocence Pinot Noir (one of their most popular selections) available at the Newhall Press Room, additionally their Rhone Blend and Chardonnay can also be found at Sunrise Spirits in Valencia. The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition awarded Silver Medals to both their Sparkling and Rhone Blend just recently, and the business shows no signs of slowing yet. In the year of 2022, they were able to donate roughly $22,000 in wine and profit directly to local charities and humanitarian causes.
For Kelly and Steven, the idea was to find a way to combine their love of wine with their love of giving back to the community. Sure, profit is a worthwhile endeavor, but success in the business comes from the amount they are able to contribute back to charity. And for the Humanity Wine Project, the success they achieve can be used to create a more abundant future for everyone. How many other businesses can say that?
Find them on Facebook, Instagram, and online at www.humanitywine.com.

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