The 11th Annual Hops for Housing event wrap up!

On Saturday April 11th, 200 people gathered from across Eastern Iowa at the Ushers Ferry Historic Village to attend Willis Dady's largest annual fundraiser, Hops for Housing. The large windows let in natural lighting to create a wonderful ambiance for the event, and we had tables decorated with 46 silent auction baskets. Attendees grabbed their pretzel necklaces and glasses to taste samples from 15 local and national breweries and cideries over the 3 hour event. Music from The Poor Poor Rich and Joe Sorensen mixed beautifully with the sounds of clinking glasses, laughter, and conversation. We were so glad Joe could join us for another year! Did you know he was one of the people who founded Hops for Housing eleven years ago?

This year's Hops for Housing raised over $52,000 to support Willis Dady's general fund. Our total comes from generous sponsors, ticket sales, merchandise, and free-will donations at the event. Funds raised at this event help our agency fill budgetary gaps and be able to address the emergent needs of our clients and community throughout the year. Thank you so much for supporting this event and our mission to empower all experiencing homelessness to build futures of self-sufficiency through advocacy, housing, and employment.

We would like to make a few special shout-outs: 

• Thank you to the 30 volunteers who helped pour samples, check-in attendees, set up brewery tables, and helped make this day a success! Volunteers served over 60 hours in one day! We could not have done this without you, and we are so grateful you chose to spend an afternoon with us. 

• Our Pretzel Preppers who strung together 300 pretzel necklaces for this event! Your efforts were incredibly tasty and the perfect snack to cleanse the palette in-between samples (special thanks to Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust, Coe College’s Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority, Great America and Holmes Murphy for allowing your employees to donate their time to helping us!). 

We could not have asked for a more generous group of businesses and individuals to come alongside us to break the cycle of homelessness in Eastern Iowa!

Willis Dady’s 11th Annual Hops for Housing Presenting Sponsor,

Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust

Willis Dady's 11th Annual Hops for Housing Gold Sponsors

Willis Dady's 11th Annual Hops for Housing Silver Sponsors

Willis Dady's 11th Annual Hops for Housing Bronze Sponsors

Did you attend the event? Please take a couple of minutes to complete our brief feedback survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiWNip4PPMTi48ZSYXm4IwuMsA4NzjYSMu55CPR5O3wA17FA/viewform?usp=header

Our second largest fund-and-awareness raising event is coming up this fall: Willis Dady’s 14th Annual 5K/10K Dady Dash! Follow our social media platforms for more details!