Capuchin Soup Kitchen 50th annual SOCK Dinner fundraiser returns to Huntingon Place

More than 800 expected at signature event raising awareness and funds
 to alleviate suffering due to poverty, food insecurity, incarceration and substance abuse

DETROIT – The 50th annual SOCK (Support Our Capuchin Kitchen) Dinner, supporting the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, returns to Huntington Place on November 10, 2022 with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. The event, presented by Comerica Bank, is in-person following a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised through the SOCK Dinner help provide freshly-prepared meals every day to hundreds of people experiencing hardships in our community. The SOCK Dinner started 80 years ago as a Baseball Dinner to raise funds for the Soup Kitchen before evolving into the SOCK Dinner 50 years ago. The 2022 SOCK Dinner, titled “A Grand Slam for a Golden Anniversary” will honor its baseball heritage with a visit from Paws, the Detroit Tigers mascot, and will be emceed by Detroit Tigers play-by-play radio announcer Dan Dickerson.

“The annual SOCK Dinner invites the people of Southeast Michigan to share in the work of the Capuchin Friars at the Soup Kitchen that began in 1929 at the outset of the Great Depression. We have always relied on the support of the community who generously offer something of themselves in support of those who are suffering through challenging times,” said Br. Gary Wegner, OFM Cap., executive director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. “Perhaps now more than ever, with a cost of living crisis pulling many more households into challenging situations, we are grateful for the support of so many in metro Detroit and beyond who answer the call.”

The 2022 honorary chairs are Mike and Carole Ritchie. Mike was recently named Executive Vice President, Head of National and Specialty Businesses for Comerica Bank after previously serving as President-Michigan Market. Carole received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Wayne State University in 1992 and went on to work for the Detroit Medical Center, Beaumont Hospital and University of Michigan Health System. Mike and Carole first volunteered to serve as honorary chairs for the 2020 SOCK Dinner, which was canceled due to the pandemic and have renewed their commitment to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen throughout the pandemic until, at last, the SOCK Dinner was able to be held in-person again this year at Huntington Place.

“The Capuchin Soup Kitchen has served our community for over 90 years with a loving spirit dedicated to a higher purpose by helping people meet their basic needs,” said Mike and Carole Ritchie. “We are grateful and humbled to be part of this special event that supports the wide range of services and campuses that provide joy and hope on a daily basis.”

Every year the Capuchin Soup Kitchen distributes Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys, along with all the fixings for a holiday meal. The Soup Kitchen supplies enough food boxes for approximately 1,300 Detroit-area households experiencing hardship. This year, Comerica Bank made a gift in the name of each SOCK attendee to support this special distribution during the upcoming holiday season.

Tickets to the 50th annual SOCK Dinner are $275 per person and include dinner, refreshments, musical entertainment, a silent auction and an afterglow event. To order tickets, call (313) 579-2100 (ext. 153) or purchase online at www.sockdinner.org. Other ways to support the mission of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen include bidding on silent auction items or mailing or making an online donation.

About the Capuchin Soup Kitchen

Founded in 1929, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen serves Metro Detroit by providing food, clothing, and human development programs to the people of our community. Through its programs, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen addresses the needs of thousands of families and individuals each day. Capuchin Soup Kitchen programs include:

• Meal Program – serving three daily sit-down and take-away meals, six days per week at two locations on the East Side
• Shower Program – providing hygiene and clean clothes year-round
• Capuchin Services Center – an emergency food pantry and clothing distribution center
• Spiritual Care and Emergency Social Work Assistance/Case Management – Assisting with longer-term goals
• Rosa Parks Children’s & Youth Program – providing art programs and tutoring for youth
• Earthworks Urban Farm – a 1.5-acre USDA-certified organic farm supplying Capuchin Soup Kitchen meal sites and educating the community on building sustainable relationships with the earth
• R.O.P.E. House/On the Rise Bakery – assisting individuals re-entering society following incarceration or treatment for a substance abuse disorder
• Jefferson House – a 12-bed residential substance use disorder treatment facility, assists indigent males seeking to reclaim their lives from addiction

The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a ministry of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph which is headquartered in Detroit. For more information, visit www.cskdetroit.org.

About Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank, a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated, has served Michigan longer than any other bank with a continuous presence dating back over 170 years to its Detroit founding in 1849. It is the largest bank employer in metro Detroit and has more than 4,700 employees (FTE) statewide. With one of the largest banking center networks in Michigan, Comerica nurtures lifelong relationships with unwavering integrity and financial prudence. Comerica positively impacts the lives of Michigan residents by helping customers be successful, providing financial support that assists hundreds of charitable organizations, and actively participating in Detroit’s downtown revitalization. Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Comerica, Twitter: @ComericaBank and Instagram: @comerica_bank.