Bridge to Home’s Soup for the Soul brings big hats to a tough topic

Bridge to Home’s 2026 Soup for the Soul Gala set a high bar for dress with its “Off to the races” theme, and guests delivered in spades. 

Around 250 attendees in high, flowering derby hats and straw boaters packed the Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center Friday evening. Once the bidding began, the action rarely slowed, with auctioneer Jesse Hernandez moving fast through the audience to joke with bidders. 

The levity of Friday’s gala was the point of the theme, said Mandy O’Connor, Bridge to Home’s director of development. 

“Homelessness is … a tough topic to talk about,” O’Connor said. “We thought we would bring a theme to the event where you can just be fun and celebrate each other, all for a meaningful cause.” 

The fact is that nobody expects to become homeless, O’Connor said, and the need for homelessness services in Santa Clarita is more severe than what many people realize.  

The Bridge to Home nonprofit operates the largest homeless shelter in Santa Clarita, and its Soup for the Soul Gala is one of its most well-known fundraisers of the year. The organization’s return on investments can be tallied by the numbers: In 2025, Bridge to Home sheltered 171 people, put 72 in permanent housing and gave 1,250 case management services, said interim Executive Director Courtney Kanagi. 

This year’s gala also spotlighted some of the people who’ve directly benefitted from those services, including a man who’s now living in an apartment and working at Magic Mountain and a woman who’s currently living at the shelter with her son. 

O’Connor declined to share their full names to protect their anonymity, but the two attended Friday’s gala in person, and attendees saw videos of them sharing their stories.  

“You saw them smile with pride,” O’Connor said. “It felt like they were loved and they were seen.”   

This year’s event also brought back the “soup” in Soup for the Soul, serving guests a shot glass of soup to take with them to their tables. The gala’s name comes from a tradition observed when it first started nearly 10 years ago, when attendees would buy bowls of soup, O’Connor said. 

The funds from Friday’s event came through ticket sales, sponsorships and bids. Bidding started big that evening, with a $1,000 winning bid on a ride-along endorsed by Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Brandon Barclay.  

While total proceeds are still being counted, O’Connor said that this year’s event had over 30 sponsorships from other community service organizations, corporations and local government leaders. 

That support from the four corners of Santa Clarita is sorely needed, O’Connor said.  

“There’s hundreds of volunteers throughout the year that come to serve at our shelter. Tonight’s about celebrating them and … individuals who give and donate to the organization,” O’Connor said. “There’s a lot of need out there right now for people in our community.”