The 22nd Annual Benefit on the Bay event raised $150,000 to benefit the Detroit-based Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
The recent event was hosted and organized by Mike Schodowski, vice president of sales of Auburn Hills-based Shelving Inc. . The family-owned industrial and residential shelving company underwrites all costs for the fundraiser ensuring all funds raised go to advance the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s mission. Additionally, Schodowski’s company, Shelving Inc. donates 10 percent of their profits annually to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.
Held at the MacRay Harbor banquet center along the shores of Lake St. Clair in Harrison Township, the event was attended by nearly 650 people and brought the total amount raised since the first Benefit on the Bay in 1993 to $1.25 million to support Capuchin. This year¹s event exceeded goals by $25,000 and raised $40,000 more than the 2014 event, which raised $110,000.
“I was first introduced to The Capuchin Soup Kitchen when volunteering as a teenager,” Schodowski says. “I was moved by their mission and the assistance they provide to those in need within our community.”
Schodowski started Benefit on the Bay in 1993 with a group of friends on a boat dock, eating pizza and dancing around an AM/FM radio, ultimately raising $1,400 for Capuchin. The event has grown every year since.
In addition to Benefit on the Bay, Schodowski organizes the Bocce with the Brothers fundraiser, which will host its fourth annual event on Jan. 21, 2016, at Villa Penna on Hayes Road in Sterling Heights.
