Sure hope it’s OK to borrow from a Campbell’s Soup commercial and say that for over a decade now, Soup for the Soul has been mmm, mmm good.
Ditto for Red Wine & Seafood, although its focus was on dishes whose key ingredients were critters with fins and shells.
Tasting parties don’t get any better than Soup for the Soul and Red Wine & Seafood. The 11th annual Soup for the Soul, chaired by Stacie Schubert, had chefs from 15 restaurants and one hospital cafeteria serving their signature soups and appetizers to 780 people at the Sheraton Denver Downtown. It raised about $200,000 for Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice, which are divisions of Centura Health at Home.
Monica Owens and Quinn Washington, the go-to volunteers for organizations trying to get young professionals on board, chaired the 16th edition of Red Wine & Seafood and were overjoyed with the response to this event that raised about $30,000 for the Brandon Center and Theodora House shelters operated by Volunteers of America.
“It’s the largest crowd we’ve had in years,” Washington said. “Our capacity (at the Oxford Hotel Ballroom) was 300; we sold 290 tickets in advance and had a few walk-ups who paid at the door. Then, we had so many last-minute silent-auction donations that we ended up having to add two more display tables.”
In addition to the food — standouts included Fruition’s potato-leek bisque, TAG’s roasted sunchoke soup, and the chilled blackberry de Jamaica from Peakview Cafe at Parker Adventist Hospital — Soup for the Soul also included presentation of the Award of Courage to Frank Bingham. His wife, Becca, and their children Macie and Garrison were killed in 2006 after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in a downtown intersection.
“We honor him for his tremendous spirit and for teaching us that hope, faith, forgiveness and love can survive even the worst kinds of tragedy,” said Centura Health at Home CEO Erin Denholm. “He has shown others that one can survive the unthinkable and still move forward with dignity, grace and passion.”
Since the accident, Bingham has completed law school, passed the Colorado bar exam and met a woman to whom he has become engaged.
To find out more about both these events, please visit my Seen First blog: .
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, GetItWrite on Twitter
