SAULT STE. MARIE -- This year’s virtual Bon Soo Winter Carnival is underway and so too is a modified annual fundraiser for the Zonta Club of Sault Ste Marie.

Due to the challenges of COVID-19, the club decided to opt out of its annual “Bon Soop” campaign, which has been part of Bon Soo since 2006.

But, with some local establishments stepping up, the soup fundraiser is back for another year.

“We’ve got Shabby Motley, Freshii, Big Lake Cabin, Subway - four locations, and Mulligans,” says Bon Soop Co-Chair Gayle Manley.

Manley adds it was the Sault Ste. Marie Golf Club and Mulligan’s Irish Pub that got the ball rolling on this year’s campaign.

“Well, we’ve got a lot of committed people that are members of the club, and we thought hey, we might as well reach out,” says Sault Golf Club Vice President Dan McKenney.

“It’s obviously a challenging time, but there’s no reason why we can’t do this.”

Other Sault business owners decided to participate as well, including Ashleigh Sauve who owns Shabby Motley.

“As a woman owned business, I know that Zonta Club does a lot of work for female empowerment and helping women across the world,” says Sauve. 

That thought was echoed by Jonathan Young, owner of Big Lake Cabin, who saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community.

Shabby Motley, Big Lake Cabin, Freshii, and Subway locations in the Sault will be donating a portion of soup sales to Zonta Club until February 14th. Zonta Club has. been advancing the status of women in the region for more than 40 years.