Church participates in “Souper Bowl”

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On Sunday, February 11, the First Presbyterian Church of Van Wert along with the Jr. Church children participated in the “Souper Bowl of Caring” tackle hunger challenge. The Souper Bowl of Caring is a signature annual event. Each year thousands of individuals and groups from all fifty states participate in Souper Bowl of Caring donation fundraisers for their local food charity of choice.

Since 1990, over 300,000 groups have participated to support local food programs in their communities. Inspired by a simple prayer: “Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat,” said Dr. Reverend Brad Smith, founder.

This prayer was delivered to a small youth group at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina. The idea is when everyone gets together for the big game, they could collect money in soup pots or canned goods from the people when they gathered. Then they would donate to a local charity of their choice.

We were inspired to participate in this program. On the Sunday before the Super Bowl game the children of the First Presbyterian Church got up in front of the congregation and explained what this program is and how it all works. Everyone was ready to participate and have some fun. We made up soup bowls with the team’s name and the children collected the money on February 11 for the “Souper Bowl of Caring”. The charity we chose to donate to this year is The Salvation Army’s Free Feeding Program. We collected $290.50 on that Sunday. Then Dr. Erica Unverferth, a local dentist who purchased Dr. John Eversman’s dental practice after his passing in December 2023, reached out to us and wanted to do something in his honor. We were blessed with her matching donation of $290. Together we were able to give $580.50 to the Salvation Army’s Free Feeding Program.

Thank you to all that participated in this program of giving. We are blessed to have such a wonderful community of caring and giving people. If you would like to learn more about tackling hunger you can go to http://tacklehunger.org. Blessings to all.