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145th Airlift Wing delivers "Souper Bowl" to local community

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  • 145th Public Affairs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. --  Members of the North Carolina Air National Guard celebrated the Carolina Panthers and Super Bowl Sunday by participating in "Souper" Bowl. "Souper Bowl of Caring" utilizes Super Bowl weekend to rally people together in an effort to help fight hunger and poverty in their local communities.

Sponsored by the 145th Airlift Wing's Chaplain Corps, Chapter 7, Jr. Enlisted and Chief's Council, containers were placed across the base where Airmen could drop off canned goods and non-perishable food items during February's Unit Training Assembly, held Feb. 6-7, 2016. 

"As a former youth minister, I was excited when I saw a challenge for Souper Bowl Sunday and even more excited when I saw all the donations that came in over drill weekend from our service members from both here in Charlotte, and in Stanly County, wanting to help out their communities," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Debbie Kidd, chaplain for the 145th Airlift Wing.

In 1990 a simple prayer delivered by seminary intern, Brad Smith, at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, S.C., gave birth to an idea; why not use Super Bowl weekend, a time when people come together for football and fun, to also unify the nation for a higher good?
  
Since then, more than $100 million of canned food items (or money) have been donated to soup kitchens, food banks and other charities across the country.

As for here in Charlotte, thanks to a wager over whether Denver or Charlotte could collect the most food for charity, the local food drives persevered by collecting twice as much food as Denver by the end of Super Bowl 50. Final score: Carolinas 636,891 food items, Denver 360,664.

"What a wonderful way for this community to share some of their Panther's fever by helping other people," said Beverly Howard, Executive Director of Loaves & Fishes.

"And what a wonderful way for the NCANG to, once again, have an opportunity to 'live out' what we raised our hands to do, provide support to our communities, whether across the ocean, across the continent, or right in our own back yards," Chaplain Kidd proudly stated.