The four projects vying for the pot at Knoxville SOUP on Tuesday, April 30, are small in focus but epic in thoughtfulness.
- One provides free lawn-care services in lower-income/impoverished and middle-income communities.
- Another is trying to beautify the corner of Chapman Highway at Colonial Drive at the entrance to the Chapman Highway Dogwood Trail.
- A small group that makes blankets for patients at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital – and also provides them to South Knoxville fire stations and police officers to give to children in need – needs funds for materials.
- And a neighborhood group wants to engage the new wave of college students living in South Knoxville by providing them with coffee and other breakfast drinks on their way to early-morning classes.
Knoxville SOUP is a grassroots group that raises money for projects that benefit the community. It’s also the name of the dinner/presentation event held quarterly to provide microfunding for one of four featured projects.
The April 30 SOUP will be held at Dara’s Garden, 2637 Maryville Pike, and will be catered by Rothchild. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the program begins at 6:30. There is no charge for admission, but a donation of $5 per person is suggested.
This month’s four projects – Sleeves4Needs Free Summer Lawn Care, Curiosities’ Curb Appeal, Bundled in Love Ministry of Hillcrest United Methodist Church and Southside Waterfront Neighborhood’s One Cup at a Time – will all have brief presentations and a question-and-answer period. Attendees then eat a simple but delicious meal and mull over the projects before voting. The project with the most votes wins the money donated at entry.
Past SOUP projects have resulted in school and community walking trails, exercise equipment for a community center and support for an anti-human trafficking initiative, among other projects.
Attendees can meet other people who care about the community, have a good meal and win some great raffle prizes. For more info, visit the website.
