By STEPHANIE BEACH
Senior high youth from Feast of Victory Lutheran Church in Acme took part for the first time in the worldwide "Souper Bowl of Caring" on Feb. 7.
The 20-year-old event gives young people a chance to make a positive difference in the world as they work together for charities that provide shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry and compassion to those in need.
The Feast of Victory youth were going for the win by dividing the church into two teams, and put competition into the day by having a "Colts for Christ" table and a "Saints" table for nonperishable food items. They also passed "Souper Bowl of Caring" soup pots during both worship services to collect monetary donations.
The senior high youth collected 451 pounds of food and $614.97 in cash donations. They chose to give the food and $164.97 to the Acme Christian Thrift Store (ACTS). The remaining $450 went to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's World Hunger Fund for Haiti.
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In February, 24 snowmobile riders from the Trail Mix Adventure Group got together for a ride in memory of the late Roger Dumortier, a snowmobile enthusiast and supporter of the Father Fred Foundation, followed by a complimentary lunch at Peegeo's Restaurant.
Organizer Ben Clayton extends a huge thank-you to Peegeo's and all of the riders who participated in this year's event, which raised $500 and collected 300 cans of food for the Father Fred Foundation Food Pantry.
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Judy Koch from The Presbyterian Church of Traverse City wants to make sure that the community is aware of the great generosity Sara Lee Bakery Division in Traverse City extends to the Safe Harbor ministry and urges anyone who knows someone at Sara Lee to tell them how much their generosity is appreciated.
"For the entire bad weather months, area churches take turns opening their doors to the homeless, giving them a warm place to sleep and (serving) dinner and breakfast. We call this Safe Harbor," Judy wrote. "Sara Lee needs to be thanked publicly for their unbelievable generosity as they provide all the desserts served every night at every church entirely free. As a community we are so thankful for your huge contribution to Safe Harbor."
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The Kiwanis Clubs of Traverse City, including the five student clubs, raised more than $2,800 to support the Kids Against Hunger Coalition of Michigan and then got together to package 10,000 nutritionally balanced meals to go to both local and international charities.
Each meal package, developed by scientists at Cargill, Pillsbury, General Mills and Archer Daniels Midland, provides six nutritionally complete soy/rice casserole-style servings. About one-third of the meals will be redistributed through local charities, while the remaining packages will be donated internationally.
