SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Everybody has a story.

For a group of Michiana natives, these four words have grown to be so much more than a simple assertion — they have become the anthem behind a movement, and on April 11, the Chicory Cafe in South Bend will help support their cause.

Returning for the second year, Everybody has a Story leaders — or EHAS, as they’re often referred — is preparing for a variety show showcasing Michiana-born celebrities of all kinds.

The EHAS project began when Curt Heckeman, a South Bend native, reached out to Steve Sult, a former classmate, with an idea to unite all of the artists bred in the Michiana area throughout the past several decades.

“Curt was a very accomplished musician and was testing the waters, getting back into music professionally after a hiatus,” Sult said. “He contacted me seeing if I might be interested in helping him market an idea he had called Everybody has a Story.”

Sult and Heckeman quickly got the ball rolling with the use of social media, contacting people they had not talked to in decades. Some still lived locally, some recently moved back to the area and others lived in other parts of the country.

So, Sult, Heckeman and six other professionals formed a committee to find the best way to make use of all of the individuals willing to use their talents to benefit causes from the region where they learned their trades.

“One of the things we found is there is so much negative news every day. We thought, ‘wouldn’t it be interesting to form a group of volunteers who promote music in variety events to benefit Michiana charities?’” Sult said.

After a year of planning, EHAS put on a variety show with more than a dozen performers at the Century Center in South Bend and raised $7,000 for the 360 Project, an organization that pairs at-risk youth with “un-adoptable” dogs.

“It’s kind of like pairing two broken spirits — dogs and kids. The results have been remarkable so far, because what they’re doing is they’re fixing each other,” Sult said.

This year, EHAS plans to raise even more money, with a lofty goal of $75,000 to benefit two Michiana charities: Reading for Life and the Friends for Life Fund. This year, the event will relocate to Loughlin Auditorium on St. Mary’s campus on Oct. 23.

Reading for a Life is an organization run at the Thomas N. Frederick Juvenile Justice Center. Friends for Life is an organization that helps lower-income families pay for pet care.

To prepare for a much larger venue, EHAS is hosting a number of fundraisers leading up to the event, including the Dine for a Cause dinner at Chicory Café on April 21.

“Chicory Café has been extraordinarily supportive of us. They know that we’re small and that we’re new and that we’ve caught on,” Sult said. “We recruit everybody we can get our hands on to get dinner and drinks, and they donate 20 percent of the dinner and beverage purchases back to us.”

A handful of performers will perform during the fundraiser April 21, so guests can get a taste of what is to come in October.

Guests wishing to participate in the Chicory Café fundraiser can find the flyer at ehassb.com and either print it out and bring it, or show it to their server on their smart phone.

Chicory Café is located at 105 East Jefferson Blvd., Suite 103 in South Bend.