Valley youth participate in Souper Bowl of Caring

Staff report

Youth organizations at Valley churches will participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring this weekend.

In the weeks leading up to or on Super Bowl Sunday, young people take up collections, asking for $1 or one item of food for people in need. They give 100 percent of their donations directly to local hunger-relief charities of their choice.

In 2014, more than 10,000 groups collected more than $8 million in money and food for local hunger-relief charities. That’s a total of more than $100 million collected since the movement began in 1990.

Youths are motivated in this activity because of these statistics provided by the Souper Bowl of Caring website, www.souperbowl.org. Hunger affects nearly 50 million Americans who live in poverty; one in six Americans faces hunger daily; some 630,000 Americans are homeless; 23 of those struggling went to college; and 16 million children live in food insecure households.

Souper Bowl of Caring mobilizes young people to fight hunger and poverty in their own communities around the time of the Super Bowl football game.

Twenty-five years ago, Brad Smith, then a seminary intern serving at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., suggested an idea to the senior high youth group. Youths could collect donations at their schools and churches in soup pots, and then donate everything to a local charity. Twenty-two Columbia churches participated that first year. The groups donated a total of $5,700 to hunger-relief organizations. Since then, the youth movement to fight hunger has donated more than $100 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the country.

Among Valley youths involved:

Boy Scout Troop 55 of First Presbyterian Church, 201 Wick Ave., Youngstown, will participate and mark Scout Sunday this weekend and serve as liturgists. Scouts will collect canned and pre-packaged food items and monetary donations. Donations will go to Protestant Family Service food pantry.

Youths at First Presbyterian Church of Mineral Ridge, 3654 Main St., Mineral Ridge, will collect donations Sunday that will benefit Niles Community Services.

Youths at Girard First United Methodist Church, 22 N. Market St., Girard, will collect soup and money donations for Emmanuel Community Care Center in Girard.

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 162 S. Raccoon Road, Austintown, will collect soup and money donations.

Youths of St. Columba Cathedral, 159 W. Rayen Ave., Youngstown, have collected donations of canned and boxed soup throughout January and conclude the effort Sunday. Donation boxes are in the church entrance. Donations will benefit the cathedral’s food pantry.