Spaghetti sauce off to benefit Chrished Ones Ministries

COEUR d'ALENE - A fundraiser for Cherished Ones Ministries, the first in its 13-year history, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit's soup kitchen at Second and Indiana.

It will include a "spaghetti sauce off" placing some of the area's best sauces by local chefs and community leaders in a competition. The all-you-can eat dinner, which will include pasta, salad and garlic bread, costs $10.

There will also be live music by several musicians, including Buck Storm, and a silent auction featuring the work of local artists, including Stephen Shortridge.

Cherished Ones Ministries operates a soup kitchen that is open 5-6 p.m. Saturdays.

"We have never missed a Saturday since we started," said Kevin Kram, Cherished Ones director.

It serves about 100 people a week on an annual budget of less than $25,000. It relies on a core of about 10-15 volunteers, donations and grants.

Kram's sister, Diana Clark, organized the fundraiser because she saw an increasing number of young and old coming in for the free weekly dinner. Cherished Ones also could use financial help to meet demand.

"We're seeing more and more people that are just us," she said.

Kevin Kram stepped back from his involvement with Cherished Ones after his wife, Dannette, died of cancer on March 18, 2011. He is back, focusing on construction work and his volunteer efforts to serve those who need help the most.

"The biggest thing for me is people know we are still here," he said.

Information: Diana Clark, 818-4582