- New Bethany hosted its 32nd annual 'Souper Day' at ArtsQuest Center on Friday
- It's a fundraiser for New Bethany, which includes a soup kitchen and shelters for those experiencing homelessness
- It's also meant to kick off the holiday season, where demand is expected to soar even more than almost doubling in the last year
BETHLEHEM, Pa.—New Bethany, a humanitarian organization that includes a soup kitchen, served soup to a different crowd Friday; donors, supporters and community leaders, with the hopes of raising $10,000 for the winter season.
About 250 people attended the event at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem.
Speakers included Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle and Gwen Didden, executive director of Berks County and Northampton County housing authorities.
"So you know, a lot of people do think about [people who are homeless], and you know, people who are hungry during the holidays, and that is because you don't want to be stuck outside during the cold weather months, and new Bethany is here to serve and here to help. And we can't do that without cash on hand. And so this fundraiser really helps get that process started."Marc Rittle, Executive Director, New Bethany
Holiday demand
Besides being a general get-together, fundraiser, and way to enjoy soup — the event is also to kick off the holiday season — a time in which those experiencing homelessness are often in serious need of help.
"So you know, a lot of people do think about [people who are homeless], and you know, people who are hungry during the holidays, and that is because you don't want to be stuck outside during the cold weather months," New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle said, after the luncheon.
"And New Bethany is here to serve and here to help. And we can't do that without cash on hand. And so this fundraiser really helps get that process started."
As LehighValleyNews.com recently reported, New Bethany's overall demand has nearly doubled in the past year.
Rittle said he expects even more people who need help this winter.
"We expect even more during the holiday season. People show up who are looking for Christmas presents, we do have Christmas presents," he said.
"People show up for Thanksgiving turkeys. We give about I would say 800 turkeys a year to different families including all the fixings, so people know for all of those additional things that cost money during the holiday season, New Bethany is here to help for those things."
Just this week, New Bethany received $28,310from the state government, in an effort to help with the increased demand.
'No short-term solutions'
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds congratulated New Bethany, as well as all the others in the room who have done work to help those in the Valley who need it.
After the speeches on stage, Reynolds mingled with the crowd and made himself available for media interviews.
"The honest answer is there are not a lot of short term solutions to the housing crisis. It is like we are moving inch by inch. While we're planning about how we can we can we can do more. But you know, it's a lot of helping one person today, helping two people tomorrow, until we're hopefully able to help thousands of people in the future."Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, on solutions for the housing crisis
When asked by LehighValleyNews.com what he was doing as a mayor to help with food insecurity and housing issues, he cited successful fundraising efforts in the last several years to which his office contributed.
"So what we've done over the past couple of years is: millions of dollars have gone out the door for rental assistance through New Bethany, we've continued a lot of our housing programs, as far as home rehab, supporting Community Action Committee, supporting other folks that are helping with first-time homebuyer programs," Reynolds said.
He also cited a housing study that he said will be ready in the next two years.
When asked what he's doing in a more immediate sense, he said it's not that simple.
"The honest answer is there are not a lot of short-term solutions to the housing crisis. It is like we are moving inch by inch," he said.
"While we're planning about how we can we can we can do more. But you know, it's a lot of helping one person today, helping two people tomorrow, until we're hopefully able to help thousands of people in the future."
Reynolds, both in his speech on stage and casually after the microphones turned off, expressed his gratitude and amazement at the hundreds of community groups in the Lehigh Valley that go out of their way to help those in need.
