Springfield Habitat gets boost for annual fundraiser

The Springfield area business community has rallied to help Habitat for Humanity’s biggest fundraiser — its signature 12-bean soup kits.

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Photo by Len Emery Meredith Kelley, center, of Kelley Sales and Service in Springfield, presents Vicky Ball, right, and Dave Yesman, both of Habitat for Humanity, with a donation from local businesses. Published December 24, 2015 in the Rutland Herald Springfield Habitat gets boost for annual fundraiser By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield area business community has rallied to help Habitat for Humanity’s biggest fundraiser — its signature 12-bean soup kits. The Springfield chapter of the nonprofit group, which has built or rehabilitated eight homes for qualified families in the past 20 years, depends on the sales of the bean soup kits to fund its renovation costs. On Tuesday, Habitat officials picked up their biggest check from Kelley Sales and Service in Springfield. Kelley, along with 10 different businesses, about half area grocery stores, came through to counter the decision by another company not to contribute to Habitat’s bean soup kit, which contains 12 different kinds of beans as well as spices. Vicki Ball, fundraising chairwoman for the Habitat chapter, said putting the soup kits together cost approximately $2,100 a year. The chapter put together 1,230 bags earlier this fall. Ball said this fall she found herself putting the purchase of the hundreds of pounds of beans on her credit card. “The businesses saved our bacon,” Ball said, pun intended. “We like to give back to the community we work in and we live in,” said Meredith Dexter Kelley. “Habitat is an important part of our community.” Ball said the Kelleys had made a “very generous donation” to help cover the costs of materials needed for the soup kits, which are put into Christmas calico fabric during the holiday season, and other colorful calico pouches during the rest of the year. Ball gave Kelley a Christmas calico soup kit. Ball said sales have been strong so far, and she said time spent the past weekend outside the Lebanon, N.H., Food Coop, was a big boost for sales. In addition to the soup kits, Habitat is selling bread boards (in the shape of a small house) and birdfeeders made by a Springfield volunteer, Dick Gordon, 94. “He’s like the Energizer bunny,” said Ball. Any money raised by the soup kit sales is 100 percent clear profit, she said, that goes into building and renovating the next Habitat home. David Yesman, chairman of the Springfield Habitat board, said the ninth home will be a rehabilitation project, as the Habitat chapter bought an older home in a foreclosure sale. The businesses that contributed to Habitat included Bibens Ace Hardware, Springfield GMC, IVEK, Frank’s Fabrics in Charlestown, N.H., as well as Market Basket, Wal-Mart and Shaw’s stores in Springfield, Ludlow and Walpole, N.H.