Young people from Columbia's First Northeast Baptist Church, home congregation of Ravens linebacker Peter Boulware, will join thousands of others Sunday in a grass-roots drive dubbed the ``Souper Bowl of Caring.''
Youth will stand at sanctuary exits at churches across the country, holding soup pots in which they will collect donations for the needy. The project has mushroomed since an associate minister at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church, also in Columbia, started it in 1990.
That year, 22 Columbia churches collected $5,700. Last year, similar drives by youth at churches of 50 denominations in 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico raised $3.1 million.
This year's event was kicked off at a Wednesday news conference in Tampa, Fla., where the Super Bowl will be played. The game's religious counterpart is expected to involve 15,000 congregations this time around and raise $4 million for the needy.
All proceeds go directly to local soup kitchens, food banks or other recipients selected by the participants. Souper Bowl organizers never tell participants where to send the money raised.
The formula is simple, the result dramatic. Sunday worshipers are encouraged to chip in $1 as they leave services.
