Willis Dady's 10th Annual Hops for Housing Event Wrap-Up

Phoebe Trepp
Apr 24
2 min read

On Saturday April 12th, 250 people gathered from across Eastern Iowa at the Olympic South Side Theater to attend Willis Dady's largest annual fundraiser, Hops for Housing. The venue had a great ambiance for the event, with beautiful chandeliers and a stunning bar decorated with silent auction baskets. Attendees dawned their pretzel necklaces, grabbed their pint glass, and were able to sip on samples from 15 local and national breweries and cideries over the 3 hour event. Music from the Ben Schmidt Band 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 ten years ago?

This year's Hops for Housing raised over $50,000 to support Willis Dady's general fund. This total comes from our generous sponsors, attendees, 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 40 volunteers who helped pour samples, check-in attendees, set up brewery tables, and helped make this day a success! Volunteers served over 80 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 incredible tasty and the perfect snack to cleanse the palette in-between samples. (Special thanks to Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust 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! Please make sure to support our business sponsors below and head to their websites by clicking their logo:

Willis Dady’s 10th Annual Hops for Housing Presenting Sponsor,

Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust