Fifteen local schools and Parish Religious Education Programs (PREP) helped tackle hunger last month by participating in the Souper Bowl for Caring. This national collection drive uses the excitement surrounding the NFL’s Super Bowl to mobilize youth in a united effort to care for people in their local communities who are hungry and in need.
In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl LII, students worked to fight hunger and poverty in their community by collecting more than 17,000 pounds of food. The food will be used to stock the shelves of 40 food cupboards located throughout the five county metropolitan area.
Brooke Mullen, Assistant Director of Community Relations for NDS said, “The Souper Bowl of Caring is a great way for students to come together around sports and fun while also being mindful of the needs within our community. Students are empowered to help neighbors in need and to be cognizant of those who may not have a ‘bowl of soup’ to eat, while celebrating a great day of football. This year was especially exciting for our students to participate, as this year’s Souper Bowl marked the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl.”
Students who attend Sacred Heart Academy in Bryn Mawr collected 4,000 cans of soup this year. This was the largest collection of cans ever collected by one school.
Kelly Weber, History and Theology Teacher and Community Service Coordinator said, “Sacred Heart Academy challenged our school community to reach 2018 cans of soup for our Annual Souper Bowl of Caring to match the year of the Eagles Superbowl. To help us reach this goal, we also invited alumnae to participate by dropping off cans or making a donation on Venmo. All of our constituencies responded with overwhelming enthusiasm as we crushed the original goal and collected 4000 cans of soup!” One student added, that “even though the students receive points for donating, we really just want to help others- that is just how we are here at Sacred Heart. We go to the store every week, so it’s the least we can do to pick up a few extra cans for those in need.”
Sacred Heart has five goals and criteria that fulfill their mission, the third of which is “A Social Awareness which Impels to Action.” This goal represents the service component that truly resonates with the alumni and students. All Sacred Heart attendees (current and past) are dedicated to serving others; the mission has been instilled for a lifetime.
NDS is grateful to students from Sacred Heart Academy as well as the following schools, for their participation in this year’s collection drive:
Queen of Angels School, Willow Grove (Montgomery County)
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer School, North Wales (Montgomery County)
Saint Eugene School, Primos (Delaware County)
Saints Philip and James School, Exton (Chester County)
Saint Michael the Archangel School, Levittown (Bucks County)
Saint Martin de Porres School, Philadelphia
Saint Aloysius Academy, Bryn Mawr (Delaware County)
Saint Joseph the Protector School, Glenside (Montgomery County)
Nazareth Academy Grade School, Philadelphia
Archbishop Ryan High School, Philadelphia
Saint Denis PREP Program, Havertown (Delaware County)
Cardinal John Foley Regional Catholic School, Havertown (Delaware County)
Saint Albert the Great School, Huntingdon Valley (Montgomery County)
Mother of Providence School, Wallingford (Delaware County)
Saint Pio Catholic Regional School (Philadelphia)
Saint Hubert Catholic High School For Girls (Philadelphia)
