Since 2007, Heritage Baptist Church has set aside a day to serve bowls of soup in exchange for donations to the Light House Homeless Prevention Center, raising over $34,000 cumulatively. Using the connection between “soup” and the NFL championship game, the donation-only SOUPer Bowl Lunch caught community attention and launched what has become a tradition in Annapolis.
Pandemic precautions this year prevent the annual gathering, but organizers did not want to break the 15-year streak.
“The Light House needs our help now more than ever,” said Pastor Scott Shelton of Heritage Baptist. “COVID-19 has made the work they do even more challenging. We did not want to pass up this opportunity to help, so we decided to continue the SOUPer Bowl tradition online.”
On February 1-7, Heritage Baptist will host a virtual SOUPer Bowl event on their Facebook page (@HeritageAnnapolis), with daily content featuring:
- Video greetings from the Light House and the Heritage Baptist SOUPer Bowl team.
- Soup recipes from the Light House Bistro and Chef Zachary Pope, SOUPer Bowl chef and one of the founders.
- Information on the mission of the Light House.
- Photo highlights from past SOUPer Bowls.
- “Did you know” SOUPer Bowl trivia.
The public is encouraged to make a monetary donation online at HeritageLoves.com/onlinegiving. Once the donation amount has been entered, select “give now” and guests will be directed to page where “SOUPer Bowl” can be selected from a menu titled “Types of Giving.” One hundred percent of funds donated will go to the Light House Homeless Prevention Center.
