Catholic Charities West Michigan will hold its popular Soup’s On For All! fundraiser on Monday, January 27 at The B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids. Now in its sixteenth year, the annual fundraiser offers attendees the opportunity to sample more than thirty types of soups donated by more than twenty-five Grand Rapids-area restaurants. The event benefits God’s Kitchen, a CCWM Community Outreach program that provides free meal programs to the poor and disabled and a food pantry to those in need.
Attendees will be able to select one of more than fifteen hundred hand-painted bowls donated by dozens of youth groups, churches, businesses, and other organizations to take home as a visual reminder that there are those among us who go hungry each day. This year CCWM will showcase more than eight-hundred handmade soup bowls donated by Potters for the Hungry, a West Michigan artists’ collaborative that created a Top 100 ArtPrize entry dedicated to building awareness of–and support for–God’s Kitchen. Some of these bowls will be for sale during the event.
“A warm meal and a kind word on a cold day can change a life,” said Terry Walsh, president and CEO of Catholic Charities West Michigan. “We see this proven every day at God’s Kitchen, which last year served more than 152,000 meals to those in need. That need continues to increase–and we need the community’s help to continue to provide meals for the most vulnerable in our community. Soup’s On For All! is a mindful way of raising awareness of the food insecurity that exists in our community. Please join us on January 27 and do your part to help us fill plates for the rest of the year.”
More than 150 community, media, and celebrity volunteers will be on hand to ladle out soup at more than fifteen stations scattered throughout the four floors of The B.O.B.
Sponsors of the event include Panera Bread, Gordon Food Service, The Gilmore Collection, Exhibit Designs Consultants, Creative Displays and Marketing and Mike and Sue Jandernoa. Media sponsors include MLive, Cumulus Media, CBS Outdoor, and WOOD TV8.
Entertainment for the evening will be provided by some of West Michigan’s favorite musical groups: The Addams Family, Roger MacNaughton Quartet, Rock Shop, and Blue Water Ramblers. Additionally, the Messiah Missionary Baptist Choir will perform at the close of the evening.
Last year, more than twelve hundred people gathered for Soup’s On, raising more than $100,000 to benefit God’s Kitchen, which provides a daily hot lunch to those in need. CCWM also provides seven meals each week to approximately two hundred disabled residents around Grand Rapids through its Home Delivered Meals program. Additionally, the organization provides ready-to-serve meals through area churches, each week serving more than one hundred people through its suburban outreach ministry.
CCWM’s Community Outreach programs are almost one hundred percent donor funded and rely heavily on charity partners and businesses, grants, in-kind contributions, and other type of financial support.
Tickets for Soup’s On For All! are $50 in advance and are available at Michigan Church Supply, both Schuler Books & Music locations in Grand Rapids and online at www.ccwestmi.org/soupson. Tickets are also available at the door for $60.
For more information, visit www.ccwestmi.org/soupson.
