Souper Bowl of Caring was started on grassroots principles. Today we still rely on the passion of our participants to help spread the message of Souper Bowl of Caring. After all, who can better tell our story than someone who just experienced it? That is why we want you to share the idea of Souper Bowl of Caring with other groups in your area and encourage them to participate. We want you to draft new groups to our team!

Our Grassroots History

Founded by Dr. Brad Smith in Columbia, SC, Souper Bowl of Caring began with one simple idea in mind: What if everyone who watched the Super Bowl football game gave just one dollar or food item to help those in need?

The senior high youth group of Spring Valley Presbyterian Church liked the idea so much they decided to invite other area churches to join the team. Twenty-two Columbia churches participated that first year, reporting their results so a total could be determined, and then sending all $5,700 they had raised to area nonprofits.

That was 1990. Since then, this grassroots movement has spread to all 50 states, and Souper Bowl of Caring participants have generated more than $125 million for soup kitchens, food banks and other charities in communities across the country.

But The Need Is Larger

42 million Americans struggle to find their next meal. Our team is calling on you to help draft additional players who can join us in transforming Super Bowl weekend into the largest weekend of giving and serving.

Drafting Players To Our Team

New groups can be young people, schools, places of worship, businesses and even compassionate individuals. A good selling point is to remind your draftees how 100 percent benefits a local charity of their choice.

Here are some ideas to help you draft more players to the Souper Bowl of Caring team:

• Schools could challenge a rival school or contact a superintendent
• Places of worship could ask members to organize additional drives at their workplaces
• Businesses could ask a vendor or supplier to match their donation

Just ensure each new group registers and reports their totals back to us! For a complete list of game changing ideas, check out this article on how to "Help Grow Souper Bowl of Caring" from last year, courtesy of our Utah ambassador, David James.

And if you need help in spreading the word, please check out the Recruitment Materials in our Resource Center. It is equipped with resources like Souper Bowl of Caring fact sheets, informational videos and letter to the editor templates.

This Grassroots Movement Isn't Done Growing

The challenge is set. If all of our current participating groups draft three more players to our team this year, we will be able triple our collection totals. We could work with over 20,000 groups to raise over 31 million in cash and food items in 2017 for hunger and poverty relief charities in all 50 states.

It looks like we have a lot of work to do. Join us in continuing the efforts to answer our founding question: "What if everyone who watched the Super Bowl football game gave just one dollar or food item to help those in need?"

Learn more about drafting players to our team!