wfn.org | Souper fund-raising event takes a bite out of hunger

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Note #6321 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04-January-2001
01001

Souper fund-raising event takes a bite out of hunger

Organizers hope to raise $4 million on Super Bowl Sunday  

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE — Super Bowl Sunday isn't just about football any more. 

Combine the day with an annual nationwide youth effort called the "Souper
Bowl of Caring," tapping worshipers for donations, and you’ve got a great
way to help the hungry.

This faith-based crusade against hunger, started by a Presbyterian pastor in
1990, has signed up young people to collect money and canned goods in soup
cauldrons when parishioners leave services on Super Bowl Sunday, which this
year is Jan. 28.

The event's organizers, who hope to raise $4 million in the 12th annual
Souper Bowl, are bringing congregations to the kettles with the first-ever
"Souper Bowl Service Blitz," which will launch this year’s campaign on Jan.
13. The blitz is designed to encourage young church members to serve in
their local soup kitchens, food banks and other charities, both to benefit
the charities and to increase awareness of the Souper Bowl.

"We believe the Souper Bowl concept is a gift from God," said the Rev. Brad
Smith, who started the fund-raiser at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in
Columbia, SC, of which he is associate pastor. "Our role is to enable young
people all over the country to put God's love in action and to allow every
dollar they collect to directly impact the charities they care most about."
Each congregation sends donations to its charity of choice. None of the
money is withheld. Each group is asked to report its total so that a
national aggregate can be calculated.

The Souper Bowl began with 22 churches in Columbia, spread across South
Carolina in its first two years, and went national in 1993. Last year,
11,211 congregations from 50 states and 50 denominations raised a record
$3.1 million. A total of 2,325 Presbyterian churches -- nearly a quarter of
PC(USA) congregations -- took part, contributing $565,361.

Organizers hope to involve 15,000 congregations in this year's campaign.

"This Souper Bowl offers a simple way for people in churches across the
country to come together and make a positive difference in their
communities," Smith said. "With God's help, ordinary people can do
extraordinary good."
To participate, churches simply announce that they’ll be seeking $1 and one
can of food from each worshiper and station young people at the exits with
soup bowls, pots or kettles. The results are tallied and called in to the
national campaign at (800) 358-SOUP (7687) or reported by email through the
event's Web site: www.souperbowl.org.

Congregations can call the same toll-free number to get free mini-posters
explaining the Service Blitz and the Souper Bowl. The Internet site
resources such as Bible studies, prayers and other materials to promote
participation.

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