wfn.org | 'Souper Bowl' hopes to score big on Feb. 3

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Note #6997 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

07-January-2002
02007

'Souper Bowl' hopes to score big on Feb. 3 

Organizers kick off 2002 campaign, hope to raise $4 million

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Football-loving Presbyterians will be asked to make a few
hand-offs of their own as they leave church on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3.

      Volunteers will be standing outside thousands of churches nationwide
with large soup pots, collecting money and canned goods as part of the
annual Souper Bowl of Caring, a Presbyterian-founded anti-hunger campaign
that invites churches of all faiths to use the National Football League
championship game to raise money for the poor and ill-nourished.

      The program has raised about $13.5 million for charities such as food
banks and soup kitchens since its inception in 1990. Organizers hope this
year to get 15,000 congregations involved and raise $4 million.

      "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," said the Rev. Brad Smith, a Presbyterian minister who started
the fund-raiser 12 years ago in Columbia, SC. "With God's help, ordinary
people can do extraordinary good - just get your congregation on board."

      Last year, 12,500 churches from 50 states and nearly as many faith
traditions raised $3.6 million through the Souper Bowl of Caring, an
increase of $600,000 - 20 percent - over the total for 2000.

      More than 2,500 Presbyterian churches generated $696,000 of the total,
up from $565,361 the previous year.

      The groups that participate are asked only to report their
contribution totals, so that a national figure can be calculated. All money
raised is given to local charities by those who raise it.

 	Organizers hope to bring congregations to the kettles with a Souper Bowl
Service Blitz on Saturday, Feb. 2, when church youth groups are encouraged
to serve in local soup kitchens, food banks and related charities. The idea
is to promote the Souper Bowl while getting young people involved in the
fight against hunger.

      "The Souper Bowl of Caring is a great mission-oriented drive," said
Rachel Baer, an 18-year-old college student from Florida named recently as
national ambassador for the 2002 event. "It is easy to do - really easy for
the church."

      For free mini-posters explaining the Service Blitz and the Souper
Bowl, call 1-800-358-SOUP (7687). The program's home page,
www.souperbowl.org, offers resources such as Bible studies and prayers to
enhance participation.
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