Organizers behind an April 18 event are hoping that community support pours in for a local wine bar owner whose wife is battling illness.

DeKalb residents Ash Rootes and Natalie Carrillo have teamed up to rally in aid of the owner of Class VI wine bar, Tom Sherman and his family.

In a recent social media post Sherman said he and his wife could use the community’s help.

“On Easter, we discovered that my wife has a brain tumor,” Sherman wrote. “She had surgery and they were able to remove the most aggressive part of it, but there is still more on her brain stem that they are not able to remove. She will be getting chemo and radiation to finish off that part.”

Sherman made a plea to the community for its support.

“I am not looking for charity, I am looking for your business,” Sherman wrote. “Labor costs are going to go up as I lean on my outstanding staff to cover for me while I spend the bulk of my time at the hospital. If you could find it in yourselves to swing by and purchase a bottle of wine, I would really appreciate it.”

In response, Rootes and Carrillo are staging what they call a “Community Support Day” to benefit the wine bar. The event is open to all and will take place from noon to midnight April 18 at Class VI, 214 E. Lincoln Highway.

Sherman did not comment, deferring all questions to Rootes and Carrillo.

Carrillo said she’s excited to show her support for the owner of the wine bar.

“My husband and I, for date night, enjoy the cocktails,” Carrillo said. “He’s a good mixologist.”

Being a regular patron of the wine bar and former business owner herself, Carrillo grew inspired to help the owner a short time after seeing his social media post asking the community for help.

“It really resonated with me,” Carrillo said. “It was simple just asking for community support through his business.”

In the past, Class VI has shown a commitment to supporting area nonprofit organizations and charities with giveback events where a portion of any sales goes to support local causes.

Carrillo said she hopes people in the community show their support for the wine bar.

“I really believe it’s important to care about causes, even if they don’t directly affect you,” Carrillo said.

Carrillo said they’re hoping for a strong turnout at Class VI this Saturday.

“We would like a lot of memberships that day,” she said. “Roughly 200 would be great. I really enjoy his wine memberships. It’s two bottles, and then you also get to enjoy his wine tasting, and he gets to pick the bottles out for you.”

Rootes said she hopes it’s bottom-up for many this Saturday at Class VI.

“We don’t want them to have a single drip of wine left,” Rootes said.

Carrillo stressed the importance of supporting local.

“Sometimes people complain that there aren’t things to do in DeKalb,” she said. “This is such a unique and cool concept. I would love for it to stay.”

Rootes echoed that sentiment.

“We, as a community, need to support small businesses so that we can keep them in our downtown area, in our community,” Rootes said. “This is a great way to support a business.”