More than 850 community members gathered for Community Cooperative\u2019s 23rd\u00a0annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit, raising more than $1.3 million for the nonprofit.<\/p>\n
The fundraiser, held March 5 in the service garages of Sam Galloway Ford, brought together donors and supporters for an impactful evening in support of Community Cooperative\u2019s mission to end hunger and homelessness in Southwest Florida. Attendees enjoyed a southern-style dinner with neighbors, all thanks to the generosity of more than 20 local restaurants that provided food and beverages, along with 200 volunteers who contributed more than 700 hours in preparation for the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe truly cannot express how grateful we are for every community partner, donor, volunteer and guest who made this event a success,\u201d said Stefanie Ink Edwards, CEO of Community Cooperative. \u201cOur services have become a necessity for so many in our community, and this work would be possible without our supporters. We are grateful to carry on this mission and ensure no one goes hungry in our community in honor of one of our founders, Sam Galloway, Jr.\u201d<\/p>\n
Food donated for this year\u2019s event included Artisan Eatery, Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre, Bruno\u2019s of Brooklyn, Deanna and Wesley Hansen, Jr., G3 Catering, Garden Goddess, Harold\u2019s & Vybe, Jonesez BBQ, Keylime Bistro, LYNQ, Mast Family Culligan, Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery, Norman Love Confections, Pearl\u2019s Southern Biscuits, Seed & Bean Market, Suncoast Beverage, The Farmer\u2019s Market Restaurant, The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon and Uncle Charlie\u2019s Cookies Ministry.<\/p>\n
All funds raised support Community Cooperative\u2019s impactful programs, including Meals on Wheels of Southwest Florida, Sam\u2019s Community Cafe & Kitchen, Community Market, Mobile Food Pantries, Social Services & Educational Resource Centers and Growing Healthy Kids & Families Program.<\/p>\n
Community Cooperative is a trusted nonprofit serving Southwest Florida through a comprehensive approach to addressing hunger and homelessness. Through emergency food outreach, meal delivery to the elderly and supportive services, the organization works to meet immediate needs while helping neighbors move toward stability. As economic pressures continue to impact children, families and individuals across the region, Community Cooperative remains focused on ensuring help is accessible, compassionate, and responsive.<\/p>\n
To donate, volunteer, or learn more about Community Cooperative\u2019s mission, visit\u00a0CommunityCooperative.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n About Community Cooperative<\/p>\n Since 1984, Community Cooperative has worked to effectively eliminate hunger and homelessness in Southwest Florida while simultaneously inspiring and supporting sustained positive change in its clients by delivering innovative food, education, and social service programs. With a dedicated team of volunteers, board of directors and staff, Community Cooperative stays committed to its core responsibility to collect and distribute resources through a strong and viable network of community partners. Community Cooperative is an exemplary steward of the resources entrusted to it and serves clients with compassion and integrity. Through collaboration and ongoing education, Community Cooperative supports and strengthens those whose lives have been affected by hunger and homelessness, ensuring that they have access to the resources necessary to transform their lives with dignity. For information, visit\u00a0CommunityCooperative.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 850 community members gathered for Community Cooperative\u2019s 23rd\u00a0annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-204024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}