St. Vincent de Paul’s Souport the End of Homelessness fundraiser raised nearly $10,000 Thursday afternoon for its warming shelter program. The soup cook-off was attended by roughly 1,100 people who came to sample and judge more than 40 varieties of soup. Barb Smalley, who works for St. Vincent, said East Side Fire District won both the People's Choice award and the Chef's Choice award, and the best-decorated table went to Alliance Data. “We had over 40 soup chefs participating and many leaders from our community were volunteers,” Smalley said. “We are overwhelmed by the support from so many in our community.” Smalley said the goal of the event was not only to make money but to create awareness about those without shelter during our cold months/Coeur d'Alene Press.

DFO: I want to give a H/T to FlorineD who purchased the six, $10 tickets that were given away here at Huckleberries Online. 6 HucksOnline blog readers were able to attend the annual St. Vinny's Soup-Off as a result of FlorineD's generosity.