Saturday marks the 29th annual Valentine Chocolate Festival for Utah’s chapter of Planned Parenthood in Logan. The event is Utah’s largest fundraising event for Planned Parenthood. Last year alone, the it raised more than $20,000 to support the state’s health clinics.
Nancy Sassano is the organizer of the event. She said the chocolate festival is not only beneficial because it raises money for Planned Parenthood, but it also raises awareness about the services it provides including pap smears, HPV vaccinations, pregnancy tests, birth control, and breast and testicular exams.
Planned Parenthood receives nearly a fourth of its funding from the federal government, nearly a third of the funding from client fees, and almost another third from contributions such as the Valentine Chocolate Festival. Last year, the chocolate festival attracted more than 500 chocolate-eaters.
Utah Planned Parenthood health centers served more than 120,000 patients statewide last year, 22,000 of whom were women between the ages of 20 and 30. Overall, 37 percent of Utah’s Planned Parenthood patients didn’t have insurance. Plus, the organization provided birth control to nearly 150,000 Utahns.
“Planned Parenthood is pro-life in that their goal is to help people live healthier, higher-quality lives,” she said. “Also, it allows people to live the lives they want to live in terms of choosing when to have children, controlling their own family planning to have healthy families.”
Sassano says the chocolate fundraiser is also a family event that brings together the community around Valentine’s Day.
"What else besides chocolate?" she said.
Colleen O’Neill is on the board for the festival. She said some participate for the joy of the chocolate, while others attend the event in the name of community activism.
“It is kind of a fun bake sale for reproductive rights,” she said.
The festival will take place at the Four Season’s Event Center on Saturday, February 6, at 6:30 p.m. and the live auction will begin at 8:45 p.m. Tickets are $10 per adult and $5 per child.
