November 17, 2014 at 4:33 p.m.
Soup for Shelter warms hearts, supports Frederick Place
Soup for Shelter warms hearts, supports Frederick Place
Perhaps no other meal goes as well with brisk winds and sub-zero temperatures. Just one spoonful can warm the body and, as was the case at the Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing, Inc. (NATH) Soup for Shelter event Saturday evening, the soul.
This year marked the fifth anniversary of the event, an annual get-together sponsored by NATH to support the Frederick Place, Rhinelander's homeless shelter.
"As people come in, they give a free-will offering at the door and they get a door prize raffle ticket - and people can buy extra raffle tickets if they choose - and they get their bowl for their soup and they fill that up and get some bread and some dessert and sit and talk and share a meal with their family and friends," NATH Executive Director Tammy Modic explained.
"This year, we also have some fall products that were donated that we're selling and we have our volunteer clothing that people can purchase and wear to support us as well."
That support is definitely needed, Modic said. NATH needs just over $200,000 per year to operate Frederick Place. The organization gets about $30,000 in state and federal funding, the rest of the money comes from donations and fundraising.
"The money all goes toward our operations. Our budget for 2014 was $212,000 and we get approximately $30,000 from the state and federal governments, so the rest we have to figure out how to raise someway, and fundraising is obviously a big portion of that," Modic said.
Without the money, there would be no Frederick Place. Without the shelter, there would be no safe haven for those with nowhere else to go.
Since it opened in the winter of 2011, Frederick Place has housed 374 people, including 55 children. The youngest resident of the shelter was two days old and the oldest was 78. The average age of a shelter resident is 33 years old. Approximately, 10 to 12 people stay at the shelter each night.
Thankfully for those who need it, Frederick Place is there. Thankfully for Frederick Place, Modic said, the community has always been there as well.
"It's amazing, so much so that I was actually nervous we would run out of soup," Modic said. "It's really heart warming, and it's exciting to see people that I don't get to see all the time. This is a great event for people to come together as a community and enjoy a meal together, and it truly is amazing to know that we do have that following and that support."
That support was boosted this year by a change in venue. After housing the event at the Rhinelander United Church of Christ last year, NATH moved it to the Nativity of Our Lord St. Mary's site. The event was held right after a church service.
"We changed locations this year, and I'm going to guess we had more than double (the people show up) this year," Modic said.
"There was a mass here before it this year, and that was really the only reason we decided to change locations, to try to get a captured audience. It worked out very well for us this year."
Indeed it did.
"I had no idea this was going on. Honestly, I had no idea this was even a thing until I got here for church earlier," first-time event attendee Jamison Shallock said. "I'm sure glad I heard about it now, though. This was perfect for dinner tonight, and to be able to support God's neediest while doing it, well they say the Lord works in mysterious ways, and this is just one example of that."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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