Your Name: Kathy Peters
Your Group: CenterPoint Christian Fellowship Church
Location: Barneveld, NY
Years Participated: 4
First Year: 2013
This Year: Collected $215 for Feed Our Vets Program
How did you hear of Souper Bowl of Caring?
We have been involved for four years. Our pastor had participated with his previous church and brought it to us.
Why did you choose to join the Souper Bowl of Caring team?
It's a wonderful community outreach ministry, relatable to all of our congregation from little ones to seniors. Having our collections stay local makes it that much more appealing to many.
What does your group do to participate in the Souper Bowl of Caring movement?
Each year we promote a specific campaign to collect nonperishable items throughout the month of January. This past year, we added a little friendly AFC/NFC competition to encourage donors to support their favorite team.
What have you found is most successful for raising cash and food items?
Keeping it in the forefront is one of the biggest challenges. With so many things on all of our "to-do" lists, it's easy to forget to gather up donations. Continuing reminders, updates, postings, etc. and regularly promoting progress helps insure the campaign's success.
Was there any particularly meaningful or moving story from your collection you would like to share?
We have a local young man, age 8 or 9, who makes it his mission to collect food and money to Feed Our Vets. He came to the service where we blessed the food and packed it up to deliver it and was part of our celebration.
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Tell us a little about where you donate your collection to.
We have a small but mighty local organization, Feed Our Vets, which welcomes all of our donations. Their representative, too, was at our dedication service to thank the congregation for their generosity.
Are there any resources you feel Souper Bowl of Caring could develop to enhance your collection?
The video clip you produced on organizing a planning committee was very helpful and we used it with our children, our youth group, and with the congregation at large. It would be helpful to also have a short (2-3 minute) video encouraging individuals to make donations or contribute items.
What does participating in Souper Bowl of Caring mean to your group?
We appreciate the opportunity to bring all members of our congregation together for one common goal. It's especially nice to see the kids working with the youth and the adults in order to help our community.
What does it mean to you?
It can sometimes be a challenge to make scripture "relatable" for our Sunday School children, especially the younger ones. I appreciate having a real-life application that shows them how each of us can do a little something to be the hands and feet and light of Christ and how, together, a small gesture grows into something much bigger.
