Operation Blessing's Supper Bowl arrives
It's January, and the long awaited Supper Bowl IX is coming to San Diego! No...that's not a typographical error... Operation Blessing, a humanitarian ministry headquartered in Virginia, will be partnering with San Diego area churches, social service agencies, and local businesses to host Supper Bowl IX, a free community festival serving the disadvantaged in San Diego. The event will take place on Saturday, Jan. 18, from 11a.m. to dusk in City Heights Park, 4380 Landis St. A full day of activities are planned, including youth sports clinics, main stage entertainment with music by Santos and other local performers, health screenings, and a children's carnival, complete with clowns, games, face painting and inflatable bounces. Low-income individuals and families will also receive clothing and two bags of groceries for each adult. "The first Supper Bowl was held in 1995 in Miami, Florida," explains Ronnie Holderby, the local chairman for the event. "Operation Blessing distributed 80,000 pounds of food to the needy families of Miami. The overwhelming success of the outreach led to the Supper Bowl being officially sanctioned by the Super Bowl Host Committee, allowing the Supper Bowl to come into the hosting city prior to the football game to bless the disadvantaged within each community. This year in San Diego, we plan to distribute 60,000 meals worth of free groceries to feed 15,000 to 18,000 low income people." Where does all that food come from? "Operation Blessing is sending four Hunger Strike Force trucks...18-wheelers filled with groceries donated by major corporations," said Holderby. "They will be supplying us with fresh produce, boxed foods, canned vegetables, cereal, and assorted beverages." In addition to providing food and clothing, Supper Bowl organizers want to bring a message of hope to the students in the community. During the two weeks leading up to the Supper Bowl, a group of local professional athletes will be visiting 21 schools in the area surrounding City Heights. They will participate in student assemblies speaking on motivation and self-worth. "We'll demonstrate that the methods professional athletes use to prepare physically and mentally for their sport are the same methods students can use to prepare for life and to achieve their dreams," said Darren Carrington, former defensive back for the San Diego Chargers. "We'll be inviting students to attend the football and basketball sports clinics at the Supper Bowl, where we can show them how to put these skills into action." There are lots of opportunities to get involved with this year's Supper Bowl. "To make this a successful event, we need 1,000 volunteers from the local community to sort and distribute food and clothing, help with registration, provide traffic control, and assist in the youth sports clinics and children's carnival activities," said Holderby. "Volunteer training will take place at various churches one week prior to the Supper Bowl. We currently have over 40 churches committed to providing volunteers, but we still need more help! We want to shower the people in this community with God's love. My hope is that this event will unite the body of Christian believers and show how much can be accomplished for good when we all work together!" For more information or to volunteer, visit the website at www. Supperbowl.org, or contact Johnny Martinez, Volunteer Coordinator, at 858-583-9518.