A big ‘holiday’ is coming up. For some, it’s a favorite day. Yes, indeed, it’s a very special annual ritual where we gather around the big screen with friends, eat delicious foods like cheese dip, hot wings, grilled hot dogs and maybe even enjoy a evening, many children get to stay up past their bed time, eat junk food on paper plates in the living room (please-don’t-spill-or-touch-anything), watch cool commercials that everyone will be talking about at school tomorrow and maybe even hang out with some of their friends. Oh and then there’s the football. It’s the SUPER BOWL. What could be better!?
Well a few years back, a youth minister said a prayer on Super Bowl Sunday that started a movement. Very simply he said:
“Even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of
those who are without a bowl of soup to eat.”
It was 1990 and during that Super Bowl season, 22 South Carolina churches raised $5,700 for local food banks. Fast forward, and in 2012 through what became Souper Bowl of Caring, more than 10,000 churches, synagogues, schools, businesses, civic groups, scout troops, sports teams, etc. from across the country collected $9,978,496.69 in cash and food items for more than 8,600 charities. Yep, that’s almost $10 million to help people who are hungry and in need.
Inspired? Yes. Got the chills? Probably. Want to get your family involved? How could you not.
And, it’s really easy to join Souper Bowl of Caring to make a difference in your own community! Here’s how:
- Join. You can either start your own group or join one in your area.
- Start a group. Pull together your group of friends, scout troop, class, youth group, business, etc., select the hunger relief group that you would like to support and start your own Souper Bowl of Caring group.
- Join a group. Search the Souper Bowl of Caring site by your town, state or zip code and join an existing Souper Bowl of Caring group near you.
- Collect Food / Raise Money. Check out the Souper Bowl of Caring resources page for support, stories and ideas and images to help you meet your goals by Super Bowl Sunday.
- Saturday Service. On Saturday, February 4 – the day before the Super Bowl – participate in the Souper Bowl Service Blitz. Volunteer as a group at your selected local hunger relief organization. This will allow your group to see first-hand how your collections will be put to work in your community.
- Report. When it’s all over, log-in to your Souper Bowl of Caring account and report your totals.
You’re going to be amazed by what your group has contributed to help others! Don’t forget, donations of every size count and collectively, make a huge impact. So pull your group together, visit Souper Bowl of Caring and get started today. We can’t wait to hear about your experience!
GO TEAM!
About Talk About Giving
Talk About Giving, managed by Kristin Williamson, is a service of Central Carolina Community Foundation in support of families committed to raising generous, community-minded children. For more posts specific to this topic, click the Talk About Giving category on the right side of this page. For additional research, resources and more information, visit TalkAboutGiving.org.