Surprises, appreciation and unexpected gifts were part of the Soup Ladies fundraiser on Sept. 10.

Christy Todd, who helped spearhead organizing the fundraiser, said “the event went really, really well.”

There were nearly 200 people in attendance, counting volunteers, who helped raise just under $22,000 according to Ginger Passarelli Senecal, founder of the Soup Ladies.

Todd told the Reporter before the event she thought it was important for the Soup Ladies to have a sustainable way to raise money to support its mission.

Started in 2003 by Senecal, known affectionately as ‘Mama,’ the Soup Ladies has grown both in number of volunteers and its reach as a non-profit.

Whenever there is a natural disaster such as wildfires in California or Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast or flooding in Southwestern Washington, the Soup Ladies are there.

Or when there was the shooting in December that took the lives of four Lakewood police officers, the Soup Ladies were there, feeding first responders so they could stay focused on their jobs.

And for all the Soup Ladies do, the community and those in emergency response showed their appreciation beyond anything Senecal could measure.

“It was unbelievable,” Senecal said. “I’ve been to a lot of auctions but I’ve never been to an auction where there was so much love in the room. All these people just embracing all of the Soup Ladies as a team and show how much it means to them that we do what we do.”

Victoria Laise Jonas, Maple Valley Deputy Mayor, attended because “it was an event that I was not going to miss!”

“This event was a fantastic inaugural fund-raiser for the Soup Ladies and Soup Dudes,” Jonas said in an e-mail. “When my table captain, Carol Johnston, invited me to sit at her table, I said ‘yes’ immediately. Mama’s passion for taking care of first responders responding to emergency situations is very near and dear to my heart, as I retired from the Seattle Police Department and I am very familiar with police first responders, the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to maintain law and order and keep us and our community safe.”

It seems Jonas was not the only one enthusiastic about the event.

Todd said a few of the volunteers took safety pins and pinned $5 bills to Senecal’s apron because they “wanted to see if people would pick up on it.” By the end of the night, Senecal’s apron was covered with cash.

And then there was the money raised by the wine toss that Patti and Dale Jenson put together. The couple donated their time and wine for the event, Todd explained.

“They made it really fun and I know that we raised in the neighborhood of $1,000 (with the wine toss),” Todd said. “People had a good time during the wine toss.”

And then there was the unexpected.

First, an employee of the Kent Fire Department was able to obtain patches from the police and fire agencies across the region and the country that the Soup Ladies have helped out, then had them sewn onto a chef’s jacket that was presented to Senecal.

Todd said the gesture left Senecal “in tears.”

It definitely surprised Senecal, who knows how closely guarded those department patches are for security reasons, among other things.

“Somebody went to so much effort to show that they really care about us,” she said. “That just blew me away.”

But then there was the man who, as he was leaving the auction, asked to write a check for $500 even though he only owed $10, Todd said.

“And we had another gentleman walk in off the street who wasn’t attending the event and he wrote us a check for $250,” Todd said.

During the live auction, there was such a bidding war between two tables over dinner for six catered by Senecal’s Black Diamond restaurant, Mama’s Pasta and Steak, she actually offered to provide a second one.

“The bids were flying all over the place,” Senecal said. “I told the auctioneer I would do one more.”

Each table paid $1,600 for dinner for six.

All that money raised means the things on the Soup Ladies’ wish list for the mobile kitchen they take to the scene can be purchased.

“I know everything that was on her (wish list) … I know we raised enough to purchase those items,” Todd said. “Right now they can’t bake anything, they can’t warm up food because they don’t have ovens.”

Soon, though, the mobile kitchen will have two six burner stove and oven combinations to bake bread or desserts, among other things.

That money raised, though, also means the organization can add to its savings account so the Soup Ladies don’t have to think twice when that call at 2 a.m. comes asking for help.

“One of the reasons we can respond so quickly, even to a large event like Lakewood, is because we have money in the bank,” Senecal said. “The first thing an emergency agency will ask is ‘Who pays for this?’To be able to have that cushion in the bank is huge. We have money in the bank so we can purchase the supplies that we need to feed people. A lot of people donate so that we can do what we do.”

Senecal said before the evening was over people were volunteering to help out next year and maybe they’ll have twice as many guests attend than they had for this inaugural event.

For now, the warm glow of appreciation from the overwhelming and surprising success of the event still lingers for Senecal.

“I’m just blow away by the generosity of our community,” she said.