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Charities Try To Intercept Super Hoopla, Goodwill

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: January 22, 2009

When Tracy Bender bets on the Super Bowl, it's not about putting money on a favorite team.

Her gamble is on the good will and compassion of her fellow human beings.

"Every year, we take a chance that people will come through. And every year, they go over the top," she says.

Bender works for the Souper Bowl of Caring, a South Carolina-based ministry that organizes a giving campaign every Super Bowl Sunday. Churches and schools raise money and food for their local charities, which get 100 percent of the donations.

The grassroots movement, which began in 1990 with a youth group from a Presbyterian church in Columbia, S.C., has generated more than $50 million for food banks, soup kitchens and other programs that serve the needy.

With the big game coming Feb. 1 to Raymond James Stadium, local participation in the Souper Bowl has nearly doubled since 2008.

Of the 17,000 churches and schools registered so far, 161 churches are in the Tampa Bay area – up from 90 last year. Anyone who registers by Tuesday will be mailed materials by the Souper Bowl staff; after that, participants can download instructions on the group's Web site, superbowl.org.

Participants are asked to report what they've collected as soon as possible so ministry staff can keep a tab of the overall donations.

"It's so easy to do," says Theresa Franks, youth minister at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in south Tampa. "The best part is, whatever we collect goes directly to the charity of our choice. There's no expense or middleman involved."

St. Patrick's, 4518 S. Manhattan Ave., will set up a drop-off center for non-perishable goods in its parking lot from 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 31 and 8 a.m. to noon on Feb. 1. All of the donations will be distributed to nearby St. Vincent de Paul annexes.

This is the church's second year as a Souper Bowl participant.

"It's an awareness thing," Franks says. "There's a lot of excess going on that week, with parties and everything. This is a chance to spend money on something that will benefit those who need it most."

Keeping the Souper Bowl simple is a key to getting churches and schools involved, Bender says. For those that don't have the space or volunteers to oversee a donation site, she recommends asking for a $1 donation on game day.

"Cash-strapped charities need money more than ever these days, to stock their shelves, for gas, to pay their own utilities so they can stay open to serve," she says.

The Souper Bowl of Caring's ultimate goal: to transform the Super Bowl weekend into two days of giving and serving.

"Imagine if every one of the estimated 100 million who watched the game gave a dollar to a charity," she says.

First Baptist Church in Brandon is trying out its own Super Bowl-linked fundraiser called The Hope Project.

From 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 1, the public can stop by the church at 216 N. Parsons Ave. to make a donation.

Among the needs: non-perishable foods, $5 gift cards to local drug stores and fast-food restaurants, personal toiletry items, vouchers for services such as dental work or haircuts, and feeding supplies such as paper plates and plastic utensils. Go to fbcbrandon.org for a complete list of needs.

The church's homeless ministry team will distribute the donations to local charities. One of its main projects is feeding the homeless every Thursday night in the parking lot at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Valrico.

"There's so much focus and limelight on the famous and the well-off during Super Bowl week. Our intention was to put some of that attention on people who are hurting or are neglected," says Myles Dowdy, a church minister.

First Baptist will also host a Super Bowl Pep Rally on Wednesday for some 150 churches in the Tampa Bay Baptist Association. Dowdy hopes members of the other congregations will bring along a donation.

"With the Super Bowl coming to Tampa, what better time to put the spotlight on something that can make a good impact in our community?" he says.

That's the plan for Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, a Clearwater-based ministry and one of the sponsors of Supper Bowl II, which hopes to Roll in the Dough for area organizations that serve the needy.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, 24 teams are scheduled to take part in a non-stop bowling fundraiser at Splitsville at Channelside in Tampa. ESPN radio will broadcast live from the event, which includes sports figures and local celebrities.

They hope to raise $100,000 for 20 local charities.

"It's a good time of year to have a fundraiser, because supplies are down after the holidays," says Daniel Bernard, Somebody Cares president. "Since Super Bowl Week officially kicks off this weekend, we wanted to put on an event that the whole family could attend and afford."

Anyone can stop by to watch the bowlers, make a donation or take part in the auction. Free items and discounts to the Florida Aquarium will also be given out, Bernard says.

With record numbers of people out of work, Bernard says the needs are greater than ever. And his operation has felt the sting of declining donations: He had to trim his staff from eight to two people, reduce office space from 9,000 square feet to 2,000, and participate in fewer feeding programs for the hungry.

"There's less food and more people who need it," he says. "It's great the Super Bowl is coming to the Tampa Bay area, so let's use this moment in the spotlight to show the world the goodness of God in our city. The best way to do that is to help our neighbors."

For more information on Supper Bowl II, go to sctb.org.

Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613

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