SOUPer Silent Auction for United Way on Nov. 8

What do you call an event that has all the soup, bread and home-desserts you can eat and a silent auction? You call it the first-ever SOUPer Silent Auction for the Seward County United Way to be held Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Friends Church Activity Building, 1650 N. Western.

The doors will open at 6 p.m. and the menu will include the following soups: turkey noodle, chicken tortilla, ham and bean, chili, vegetable beef and vegetarian potato. Rounding out the meal will be hot rolls from Ruffino’s Italian Restaurant, cornbread, a wide variety of home-made desserts and coffee, tea and lemonade.

Spencer Browne’s Coffee House is contributing the chicken tortilla soup and the vegetarian potato. Volunteers are making the rest of the soups, cornbread and desserts.

Suggested donations for the meal are $10 for adults, $5 for kids (12 and under) and seniors (65 and over) and free to age 3.

“We needed to add an event to the Seward County United Way 2015 Campaign because we lost a significant event we usually hold in September,” explained Susan Lukwago, this year’s United Way Campaign Chair. “When XTO Energy (ExxonMobil) sold out to Linn Energy in August, it just wasn’t going to work out to have their usual golf tournament in September with everything happening with the transition.”

Lukwago said the golf tournament, which had been held for nine straight years, typically contributed $12,000 to $16,000 for the campaign. “We knew there was no way we could find another sponsor for a golf tournament in that short of time so we decided to try this event.”

In addition to meal, there also will be a silent auction with a special jewelry bazaar. “Volunteers have been collecting silent auction items and we already have a wide array of items, from tickets to the Dec. 5 Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Wichita to artwork to gift certificates. There’s also going to be a large selection of home-made desserts to bid on.”

Lukwago said she wanted to give a special thanks to the Seward County Community College/Area Technical School Saints Education Support Personnel (ESP) group who are the key volunteers for this event. “They contacted the United Way and wanted to work on event for us. When we told them our plans for soup feed and silent auction, they immediately volunteered to help.”

The jewelry bazaar will give buyers a chance to buy Lia Sophia and Premier Jewelry but with a twist. “We are going to sell them jewelry bucks – for every dollar they buy, they will get two jewelry bucks and can use them to buy bargains in a wide range of jewelry items.”

All proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Seward County United Way to help the 26 local non-profit agencies supported by the Seward County United Way. For more information about the Seward County United Way, call 624-5400, email [email protected] or visit the web site at www.scunitedway.com.