By Lori Gillespie | [email protected]

Four years ago, Becky Benavidez needed[LL1]  help.  She had just moved back to Utah after a divorce and needed a job to support her and her children.  She felt lost as to how to start because she had been out of the workforce for many years. One day, she came across a flier for People Helping People and she decided to check them out.  Help the mother succeed so the children will learn to succeed. That motto changed her life. She began the program and today she has a good job with benefits.

“What is so great about People Helping People is that it is not a one-stop shop. They help you evolve and advance,” she said.

People Helping People is one of the non-profit groups who benefit from The Sugar House Rotary Chili Open Gala Fundraiser. The Sugar House Rotary presented the funds raised at the Chili Open Gala at a recent luncheon. Errol EerNisse[LL2] , president of the Sugar House Rotary, announced that more than $162,000 was raised and split among the five non-profits who participated. 

People Helping People Executive Director Pamela Okumura was thrilled with the money raised this year.

“This fundraiser and support from the Sugar House Rotary is critical to our organization because a lot of the grants and other funds that we receive are designated to certain things, but this money helps us to be able to do what we are doing for our back-end clients. People only want to fund out front-end, getting new clients in, but our program is meant to be a long-term program, so this event is essential to help us to continue to help our clients, because change doesn’t happen overnight.”

Amounts presented to the non-profits from the Sugar House Rotary Chili Open Gala:

Cancer Wellness House - $11,835

The Sharing Place - $17,342

Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Learning - $17,577

Teen Challenge: 180 Ministries for Girls - $32,733

People Helping People - $84,127