Local chocolateer puts Willy Wonka to shame in the name of reproductive rights
In the days before the annual Valentine Chocolate Festival in Logan, Pam Loosle goes into full-on Willy Wonka mode trying to make enough chocolates for the crowd. She goes all-out for the event. In fact, Loosle has won 14 times in the 11 years she has competed.
Loosle is a chocolate model and ambassador for the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah’s annual Valentine Chocolate Festival, which will be held this year on Saturday at the Four Seasons Event Center. The festival is Utah’s largest fundraising event for the organization. Last year alone, it raised more than $20,000 to support the state’s health clinics.
Loosle takes time off of work and plans a year in advance for the event. She said she wouldn’t put so much time and money into preparing for the festival if it wasn’t going to a great cause.
“If you can help out an organization like that with one day of chocolate indulgence, why not?” Loosle said.
She said Planned Parenthood provides many college students with the healthcare they need, even if they don’t have insurance. She said it isn’t until people need Planned Parenthood that they realize the value of the organization.
“Planned Parenthood understands privacy, dignity and respect,” she said. “They are just like any doctor’s office, only they are a step above and they care just a little bit more.
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 also because it raises awareness about health services. The company provides pap smears, HPV vaccinations, pregnancy tests, birth control, and breast and testicular exams.
“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.”
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.
Karrie Galloway, President of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, said she is impressed with the dedication of the local organizers.
“Planned Parenthood has been part of the Cache Valley community for decades, providing affordable, comprehensive and compassionate reproductive health care to Cache Valley women and their families,” Galloway said. “The annual Valentine Chocolate Festival is the sweetest event of the winter.”
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 from events like the Valentine Chocolate Festival. Last year, the festival attracted more than 500 chocolate eaters and raised about $20,000 for Utah’s Planned Parenthood health centers.
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 in 2015. Overall, 37 percent of Utah’s Planned Parenthood patients didn’t have insurance. Plus, the organization provided birth control to nearly 150,000 Utahns.
This year’s festival will take place on Saturday 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, and can be purchased at the door.
@morganprobinson