York residents are invited to get together to help local community projects, when a fundraising dinner returns to the city next month.
York Soup will hold an event as part of the York Food & Drink Festival, in in St Sampson’s Square, on Monday September 25 at 6pm.
It will be the sixth York Soup event in the past three years, with the previous five having raised thousands of pounds for local projects.
Diners enjoy a hot soup meal, and listen to pitches from four local projects looking for funding.
Guests pay £10 for a ticket, for which they receive their meal and a vote on which project they most support. At the end of the night, the votes are counted and the winning project receives all the proceeds.
Easy and enjoyable
Any projects interested in pitching should email yorksoupers@gmail.com or phone 01904 551834.
The only criteria is that the idea or project must benefit York, however if there are more applicants than spaces available then priority will be given to food-related projects.
Host Greg McGee, of According To McGee art gallery in Tower Street, said: “York Soup has at its heart a generous idea. That’s accompanied by the competitive element, and great soup – it’s a perfect night out.”
Gavin Aitchison, from the York Soup organising committee, said: “York Soup is an easy and enjoyable way to learn more about some of the fantastic projects going on across York, and to give one of them an immediate and considerable boost.
“The more people who attend, the more money we can pass on to the winning project, so we’d love to see as many people there as possible.”
York Soup was inspired by the Detroit Soup project in the United States, which has raised more than $130,000 through 150 dinners in the past seven years.
Previous York Soup recipients have included
- mentoring charity The Island
- the City of York Athletics club disability section
- children’s deafness charity Lollipop
- The Joseph Trust, which provides individual and practical support to children who have been excluded from mainstream education
- and the dance group Chilli Bon Bon, which is run by and for people with learning disabilities.