wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] 'Souper Bowl' will score big on Feb. 1

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Note #8055 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

'Souper Bowl' will score big on Feb. 1
04001
January 8, 2004

'Souper Bowl' will score big on Feb. 1

Organizers kick off 2004 anti-hunger campaign, tackle $4 million challenge

by Evan Silverstein

LOUISVILLE - Presbyterian football fans will be asked to make a few hand-offs
as they leave church on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1.

Volunteers, mostly young people, will stand outside thousands of U.S.
churches with large soup pots, collecting money and canned goods for the
annual Souper Bowl of Caring, a Presbyterian-founded anti-hunger campaign
that takes advantage of the National Football League championship game to
raise money for the poor and ill-nourished.

The program has raised more than $20 million for food banks, soup kitchens
and other charities since its inception in 1990. Organizers hope this year to
get 15,000 congregations, schools and other organizations involved and to
raise at least $4 million.

"Although the Souper Bowl of Caring is a small step in the fight against
hunger, it is a way for young people to put God's love into action by
developing a heart for helping others," said the Rev. Brad Smith, the
Presbyterian minister who kicked off the fund-raiser 14 years ago in
Columbia, SC. "The goal is for these young people to see they can make a
difference and continue contributing through volunteerism when they reach
adulthood."

Last year, youngsters from more than 12,000 churches, schools and other
groups in 50 states raised more than $3.5 million, up $400,000 from the
previous year. The record is the $3.6 million raised in 2001.

Presbyterians from about 2,240 congregations in 48 states collected a record
$719,452 for Souper Bowl 2003, about $15,000 more than in 2002.

The Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Hunger Program contributed $10,000 to help
meet the administrative expenses last year and has pledged the same amount
for 2004.

Presbyterians Bob McNair and his wife, Janice, owners of the NFL Houston
Texans, are honorary chairs of the 2004 Souper Bowl. In November, former
President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, joined the McNairs at Reliant
Stadium in Houston for the kickoff of Souper Bowl 2004.

 Smith and a group of young people from Houston also joined the McNairs on
the sideline before the game. The McNairs, members of Memorial Drive
Presbyterian Church in Houston, were the first to put money in a soup pot to
encourage youth in Texas and around the country to participate. Outside the
stadium gates, young people collected almost $1,200 for the Houston Food
Bank. (Memorial Drive church also has been helping in a citywide project in
support of the Souper Bowl of Caring.)

	"We are grateful for the McNairs' participation and willingness to
encourage youth in their efforts to help others," Smith said.

Participating groups are asked only to report contributions so that a
national total can be calculated. All the money is given to local charities
chosen by the people who raise it.
A "Blitzathon" has been added this year. On Jan. 21, organizers will start a
2,000-mile motor-home journey to 10 cities in 10 days, ending in Houston, the
site of the NFL Super Bowl. During stops in cities including Philadelphia,
Charlotte, NC, and Washington, DC, organizers and local teens will volunteer
in food banks and soup kitchens and promote the Souper Bowl.

Organizers also hope to bring congregations to the kettles with a "Souper
Bowl Service Blitz" on Saturday, Jan. 31, 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.

For more information, call (800) 358-SOUP (7687). The program's home page,
www.souperbowl.org, offers resources including prayers and Bible studies.

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