DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — A fundraiser is aiming to help a Decatur soup kitchen struggling to keep its doors open.

Pastor Phillip Cole has been providing meals and sleeping bags to the homeless since 2020. He opened the faith-based Elim House Soup Kitchen using his own money four years later.

Now, he said that money is running out. Cole wants to raise enough money to keep the kitchen open until at least the end of the year.

“We serve anywhere from 75 to 100 people a night when we’re open. We’re only open four days a week right now because that’s all we can afford,” Cole said. “But we just need that extra boost to help us continue this ministry. Our goal is to make sure nobody in Decatur that’s homeless goes to sleep hungry, that’s our goal.”

The money will also help buy a new roof and pay for rising electric bills. To find out more about Elim House Soup Kitchen or to help, visit the organization’s website.