Iowa Hunger Fighters Draft Sports Fans through the Souper Bowl of Caring
January 29, 2015
Iowa’s hunger-fighting community is reaching out to sports
fans this season through the Souper Bowl of Caring – an
opportunity for individuals, church congregations, and
other groups to team up against hunger. Teams can join
the national Souper Bowl movement online and raise funds
for their local food banks and food pantries. Food banks
and pantries can benefit from the Souper Bowl simply by
encouraging members of their communities to participate.
The Food Bank of Northeast Iowa is taking this
approach. Meals from the Heartland is taking a similar
approach to raising awareness through their independent
Supper Bowl 2015 Challenge.
This year, Davenport Volunteer Connection is partnering with other area organizations to take the
Souper Bowl of Caring to the next level through a kick-off event on Martin Luther King Day and a two
week donation drive through Super Bowl Sunday.
Davenport Volunteer Connection, AmeriCorps member and RSVP collaborated to organize the local
Souper Bowl drive to benefit the Kings Harvest Ministries food pantry. Over 150 community members
participated in the very first Davenport area Souper Bowl kick-off event, which raised funds and
awareness of the food pantry and of the importance of volunteering and national service
organizations.
Organizers credit the event’s success to:
Partnering with United Neighbors to hold the Souper Bowl kick-off during their annual MLK Day
Celebration. This boosted participation in the kick off without adding an additional competing
event to the MLK Day of Service – especially important because the Souper Bowl kick-off had
not been done in Davenport before.
Bringing together three National Service groups to co-organize the event. By working together,
Davenport Volunteer Connection, AmeriCorps, and RSVP were able to make their message of
community service through collaboration much more powerful.
Recruiting community ambassadors to help publicize and promote the kick-off and ongoing
drive.
Recruiting more ambassadors and teaming up with other events to get more foot-traffic past the
donation pots would further increase the success of the ongoing Souper Bowl drive.
For more information about the Northeast Iowa Food Bank’s Souper Bowl promotion, please contact
Nikki Litzle at [email protected] or 319-235-0507. For more information about
Meals from the Heartland’s Supper Bowl 2015 Challenge, please contact Mr. Dave Bradley at
[email protected] or 515-473-9530.
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