Shelter From the Storm Soup Dinner

For 22 years, Shelter from the Storm, a nonprofit organization, had been raising money by holding an Annual Soup Supper. This has become one of their main community fundraisers. Shelter from the Storm’s mission is to end the cycle of domestic and sexual violence. 

Shelter from the Storm relies heavily on donations and community support through their fundraising, so the soup dinner helps fund the work that they do for the community. During the event, the people attending were called up table by table to pick out their own bowl, which were donated from community members (some from Art Center East and others from artists in the community).

As well as a formal dinner, it was also a silent auction and raffle. The grand prize was a quilt. Tyanna Musrasrik, the Advocacy Support Coordinator & Crisis Response Advocate at Shelter From the Storm, says about the event, “We are so thankful for the combined community effort whether it be volunteering your labor, donating soups and bowls, or simply by attending the event.”

Photo by Alexis Maki / The Voice

Shelter from the Storm has been serving La Grande and the surrounding community since 1979. Though they have a fairly small staff, they provide a lot of services, including: “emergency shelter, crisis intervention, emotional support, sexual assault examinations, outreach and education, as well as legal and court advocacy including assistance with protective orders”, according to Musrasrik. All of their services are free and confidential, and they also have advocated at the Department of Human Services (DHS), at the Center for Human Development (CHD), and on campus at Eastern Oregon University.

Their website, unioncountyfsf.org, has a lot of resources if someone needs help, as well as a lot of information on how they are handling the coronavirus, and when their next events will be. Keep a look out for other fundraisers that Shelter from the Storm puts on. Also be sure to call their 24/7 hotline if you are in trouble as 541.963.9261.