Ocean Road's Character Crew hosts First Annual Souper Bowl

Although the Big Game is still days away it seems the students at Ocean Road Elementary School have declared the New York Giants the team to beat according to the school’s first annual Souper Bowl.

Hosted by the school’s fifth grade character education group, the Character Crew, the 2012 Souper Bowl provides students the opportunity to simultaneously demonstrate their team spirit as well as their spirit of giving in a unique food drive to benefit the residents of Lakewood’s Tent City.

Founded in 2006 by Reverend Steve Brigham through his Lakewood Outreach Ministry Church, Tent City has been home to anywhere from 20 to now more than 70 homeless men and women. Located about a mile from Lakewood’s Industrial Park, Tent City provides shelter for the area’s homeless in a communal living setting.

Because Tent City relies solely on donations, Reverend Brigham regularly conducts outreaches to provide insight into Tent City and its residents. It was on one of these outreaches that he visited Ocean Road Elementary School to educate the students about Tent City and homelessness in general. Souper Bowl 2012 is the school’s third food and supply drive in support of Tent City since that fateful visit.

“The Super Bowl provided a perfect opportunity to integrate the excitement that surrounds the game with a lesson about social consciousness,” said Ocean Road’s Principal Sheila Buck.  “All Ocean Road students from kindergarten through grade five were asked to bring in a food item from the Souper Bowl Wish List to be placed in a donation box designated for the team they think will win the Big Game.”

“In less than a week’s time, our students have brought in an overwhelming amount of canned goods and nonperishable items,” she said, gesturing to two tables piled high with canned food items and other non-perishable goods, and decorated with either a blue or red balloon to represent the New York Giants and New England patriots respectively.

While the volume of items on the Giants’ table was greater than their opponents’, both tables had accumulated enough canned goods and non-perishable food items that the additional boxes and bins placed under the table to capture the spillover were, themselves, overflowing.

“Regardless of the game’s outcome, the true winner will be the residents of the Tent City who will not only benefit from the food and other items, but also by knowing that the students at Ocean Road Elementary School care about them,” she said, explaining that in the past the students have included personal messages of encouragement to Tent City’s residents.

Mrs. Buck said that previous food and supply drives have resulted in Reverend Brigham returning to the school to accept the donation as well as to participate in an educational assembly for the students, an event the principal hopes to repeat.

“Minister Steve is a great role model for our students,” she said. “He helps us remember that the homeless are a very real part of our community. He has a dream to make the world a better place and he works daily to make that dream a reality.”

Mrs. Buck also reserved a great deal of praise for the generosity of her students, adding, “I am extremely proud of our students enthusiastic response to the Souper Bowl, it is a testament to their strong sense of compassion toward the plight of the homeless.”

“Sometimes in life, we can take for granted the simple things like having a roof over our heads, safe food to eat and clean water to drink,” said Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith. “It is activities and experiences like this that reminds us how fortunate we truly are and hopefully encourages us to reach out and lend a hand. Ocean Road Elementary School’s students and staff enthusiastically answered the Tent City’s call for help with this food drive,” continued Mr. Smith. “As new challenges inevitably arise, I am confident our students will continue to respond with an inspiring degree of civic responsibility.”

Tent City accepts donations of food, clothing and household items daily. Any unused items are distributed to Lakewood’s poor during thrice weekly visits to Lakewood’s Town Square, where the Reverend assembles tables of goods for those in need.

To find out more about Tent City, or what you can do to help, log onto their website at www.tentcitynj.org.