Tacos & Tarot On A Tuesday Supports Future Of Turpin Cares

CHICAGO — Support a mystical future for a local charity and get a glimpse into your own at Tacos & Tarot on a Tuesday. The one-of-a-kind fundraiser will be Tuesday, April 25, at Unidad Latin Kitchen, 3339 W. 95th St., Chicago. The enlightening open-house style event features two seatings, 5 to 6:30 p.m., and 7 to 8:30 p.m., and insightful interactions with tarot card readers, magicians, and even the Magic 8 Ball.

The event raises funds for Turpin Cares, a local not-for-profit that provides emergency food and a Free Store for hygiene, household and first aid items for neighbors in need. Tarot card readers will be available throughout the event for 15-minute readings (first-come-first-served sign-up) for $20. The event will also feature fun and flashy fundraising games.

Admission includes a generous Taco Bar with vegetarian empanadas, rice, beans, salad, chips with salsa and pico de gallo, and traditional garnishes, along with a cash bar.

“Unidad Latin Kitchen is one of the finest restaurants in the area, and we’re delighted to partner with them on this event,” said Greg Owen-Boger, executive director of Turpin Cares. “Their patio is a perfect setting for bringing together longtime and new friends to support the work of our small but very much needed organization. Although we can’t promise to forecast the future, we can certainly promise that Tacos & Tarot will serve up a lot of spirited fun for a good cause.”

Turpin Cares is best known for its Free Store, opened at the onset of the pandemic in partnership with the Beverly Area Planning Association and 19th Ward Mutual Aid to provide bi-monthly distributions of hygiene, first aid, and household items to area families affected by the pandemic. The Free Store, now run solely by Turpin Cares volunteers, continues distributions on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, 3 to 4:30 p.m., at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, 11056 S. Longwood Drive. Turpin Cares has distributed over 120,000 items and supported over 4,000 households in the Beverly/Morgan Park area since the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020.

“In our nearly three years of operating the Free Store, we are still seeing new people in need of our services, and we are still serving between 60 and 75 families at every distribution,” Owen-Boger said. “With inflation and rising costs, Turpin Cares sometimes struggles to replenish supplies in the quantity they are still needed. Fundraisers like Tacos & Tarot enable Turpin Cares to continue providing people with essentials.”

In addition to the Free Store, Turpin Cares provides emergency food at a pantry box located at the Edna White Community Garden, 1850 W. Monterey Ave., and donates relief items to shelters and persons without homes.

Tacos & Tarot patrons who bring a grocery bag of non-perishable food and/or toiletries to the Apr. 25 event will be entered into a raffle for a prize donated by Unidad Latin Kitchen.

Tickets for Tarot and Tacos are $65 per person and can be purchased in online at Turpin Cares. Seating for the event is limited; advance tickets are required.

Turpin Cares is a philanthropic not-for-profit organization sponsored, in small part, by Turpin Communication and in large part by generous donors and volunteers. They distribute food, hygiene products, and relief items to people in need on Chicago’s South Side. Recipients include individuals, shelters, and other organizations. Keep up with Turpin Cares happenings on Facebook.