Associate Executive Director Calvin & Fellow Celiac Friends Dear Rochester,
What an epic evening we had for ProsperRochester’s first RocSOUP event at the 1872 Cafe on Saturday March 19, 2016. The project with the most votes (given by presenter Krista Wedgewood, Re-doing and Maintaining the Flower Pots on W. Main Street) walked away with $500! Both of the other presenters, Carley Brown (Inter-generational Community Art Workshops) and Joanne Timothe (Teaching Healthy Cooking & Canning) were able to network in a way that assures that both of these projects will also become a reality this summer.
There are so many to thank;First, we owe the success of our entire event to the hosts and staff of 1872 Café which was recently revived by Salvatore’s. They were the perfect partners in creating this first-ever micro-funding fundraising event in Rochester. Because of Salvatore’s commitment to elevating women store managers to business owners, 1872 was a natural fit for this historic event. It has the distinction of being the historical setting of where Susan B. Anthony and other women voted “illegally” for the first time. We knew it would serve as the perfect venue.We’d also like to thank the Farash Foundation for initially bringing us this concept and the Joan Rothenberg Family Foundation for underwriting the event so that we could “match” the amount raised by the soup supper. Thanks to our RocSOUP Team who met regularly to plan the very first RocSOUP event: Winzell Beckett (PR Board), Jennifer Lenio (South District Libraries), Mary Lupien (St. Peter’s & Paul’s Soup Kitchen), Mike Moss (Family Independence Initiative Advocate), Kasim Wallace (PR Board, Seedfolk City Farm Board & Camp Daydreams Staff), and Philomena. We were also fortunate to have the input from David Ryder, representative for the Rothenberg Family Foundation. We are grateful to have a supportive Board of Directors, several of whom helped with the organization, set-up and tear-down of the event. Our volunteers from Liberty Manor and the Nielsen House have been on hand regularly to see to all the necessary tasks that make up a successful event. Special thanks to our event donors: 1872 Cafe, The Gluten Free Chef Blog, The Rochester Gluten Free Guide, Kelly Metra’s & Salena’s Mexican Restaurant, Cooking & Eating Healthy with Phil Small World Bakery, Wegmans, and Get Caked Bakery. The excitement and optimism of the first RocSOUP event has resulted in a plan for a pre-RocSOUP event to take place at the Phillis Wheatley Library at the end of June and a next official RocSOUP event on August 20, 2016 in the Susan B. Anthony Square. We are so pleased to be living the ProsperRochester motto – “Together We Grow!” With Love,Eleanor & Calvin
