Last week’s Soup Per Bowl event was the second of its kind and brought over 260 people together to raise money for the Metro Community Development Flint Homeless Endowment Fund. The crowd doubled the turn-out for the first event, helping spread the word about homelessness prevention to a wider community than ever before. Hosted at the Catholic Charities Center for Hope, attendees purchased handmade ceramic bowls and could try over 15 different soups made by local restaurants and community members. The soup contest left Sorrento’s Potato Soup in 1st place with a lot of other amazing soups following closely behind. The soup range was fantastic. From Italian Wedding Gnocchi to chili, there was a soup for everyone, and plenty to go around. There were also sandwiches and desserts provided by Catholic Charities to bring the entire meal together.
Live entertainment performed throughout the event, including UM-Flint spoken word members, Raise It Up spoken word members, and the Boys and Girls Club Steel Drum Band. The entire atmosphere was upbeat, excited, and fun. Social Work professor Elizabeth Collardey got up and danced during one of the Boys and Girls club’s songs and people cheered during spoken word performances. The room buzzed with collaboration and community. Everyone came together to support a great cause while raising over $2,700 in the process with funds still coming in.
The volunteer support contributed greatly to the success of the event. Volunteers from the Social Work Club, Phi Alpha Honor Society, Catholic Charities, faculty and staff from the Social Work department, as well as Social Work alumni came out to serve soup, take tickets, and host an expansive silent auction. There was no shortage of people willing to offer their time and services to support the cause.
The coordinator of the event, UM-Flint Social Work Lecturer Todd Womack, thought the event went over better than expected. “This year’s event was absolutely more than I could have ever hoped for. It truly was a success. A true sense of community permeated the Center for Hope Gymnasium. We had people from all walks of life sitting and breaking bread together and sharing authentic stories of life with one another. To me this was the ultimate Super Bowl Party. What could be better than that? The answer: Soup Per Bowl 2016!”
It’ll will be interesting to see how the event evolves each year, but one fact remains certain. The Soup Per Bowl will bring a variety of different people together under one roof for great food, great entertainment, and a great sense of community