wfn.org | Souper Bowl Raises Over $1 Million

[PCUSA_NEWS@ecunet.org]

1-Feb-96

96052           Souper Bowl Raises Over $1 Million 
                for the Poor and Hungry Nationwide 
 
                         by Julian Shipp 
 
COLUMBIA, S.C.--Dollar by dollar, person by person and state by state, it 
took only one day in January for "Souper Bowl" participants to raise over 
$1 million to feed the poor and hungry across America (see "NEWS BRIEFS," 
Jan. 19, #96012). 
 
     Churchgoers all over the country were asked to give $1 as they left 
worship on Jan. 28, Super Bowl Sunday. Young people collected the 
contributions in large soup bowls and will donate the money directly to 
ministries they feel best serve their communities. 
 
     The Souper Bowl Program was inspired by the Rev. Brad Smith, associate 
pastor of Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., after he 
prayed these words on Super Bowl Sunday 1988: "As we go home to enjoy the 
Super Bowl, let us remember those who are without even a bowl of soup." 
 
     The Spring Valley Presbyterian Church youth group took the Souper Bowl 
concept and ran with it, raising $5,700 among 22 Columbia, S.C., churches 
in 1990. By 1995, it had grown into a national effort, raising $450,000. 
This year the Souper Bowl collections passed the $1 million mark, with over 
3,500 groups participating. 
 
     Smith said that in addition to having a catchy name, the Souper Bowl 
is successful "because it is such a simple yet significant effort to care 
for ... the least of these brothers and sisters of mine" (Matthew 25:40). 
 
     "One dollar from every person is not a lot of money, but one dollar 
from [more than one million people] ... now, that adds up to a real money 
offering to help the needy," Smith said. 
 
     A complete list of participating Souper Bowl groups, community by 
community, will soon be available.  To receive a copy of the list, call 
Spring Valley Presbyterian Church at  (803) 788-3589. For more information 
about participating in the Souper Bowl, call 1-800-358-SOUP. 
 
(Information for this story was also compiled by Sally Pascutti of 
Columbia, S.C.) 

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For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, KY 40202
  phone 502-569-5504            fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 

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