Soup and Bread event raises $110,000 for BEDS Plus

By Steve Metsch

There’s a lot of money to be made in soup.

Officials of BEDS Plus, had set a goal of raising $100,000 at its 12th Soup and Bread event at the Holiday Inn Countryside.

They easily raced past that, Development Manager Erin Molek said.

“We’re at about $110,000. Anyone who wants to keep donating is welcome to do that,” Molek, of La Grange, said.

“I think it’s great. And a big part of that is the nature of the event and how community based it is,” she said.

BEDS Plus helps vulnerable clients in the Southwest Suburbs with shelter, housing and supportive services.

She liked how guests got to learn about the 20 restaurants that served up a wide range of soups, adding that some may be getting new customers from the event.

The crowd was around 700, she said. Tickets were $25 per person with kids age 8 and under eating for free.

The first 500 got their own soup bowl to take home. Free potholders were available.

Instead of raffling off gift baskets as in years past, organizers raffled out four big prizes and the interest was large, she said.

“The jars were filled (with raffle tickets),” Molek said.

Raffle tickets were $25 each or five for $100.

Prizes included:

• A seven-night stay in a deluxe one-bedroom condo at The Grandview in Las Vegas, worth $2,000.
  Four nights and five days at a condo in Silverthorne, Colorado, worth $1,500.
  A VIP experience at The Salt Shed, a music venue in Chicago with an overnight stay at the Hyatt Regency and dinner at KAMA Wicker Park, worth $1,000.
  A Coach purse worth $350.

“We made them enticing,” Molek said of the prizes.

She liked how the live musical entertainment varied between the two rooms needed for the event.

Organizers put the event together starting early Sunday.

“We’ve done that before so we knew how to do it. Just makes for a little longer day,” said Molek, who “actually walked 12.1 miles” according to an app on her phone.

“(The event) went pretty smooth. As the popularity grows – the presale of tickets is newer – we’re trying to accommodate people in a fair way,” she said.

New this year was sponsorship of tables.

Also new are coupons in the brochure to various restaurants and taverns.

If you missed this year’s Soup and Bread Event, no worries.

Plans are underway for the event to be held in February 2025.

“Part of what makes this event so cool is how the money is going to the actual programs,” Molek said.

“Because of the in-kind donations, and Holiday Inn being a great supporter, it allows us to keep the overhead down. It gets the money back into the programs.”