PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 14, 2013
Contact: Cristina Curtis Barbe, 214-914-9583
[email protected]
LaDainian Tomlinson
Teams Up “Tackle Hunger” Campaign
Souper Bowl of Caring North Texas kicks off Jan. 15 with student rally and
continues through NFL Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3
January 14 – Former college and NFL running back, LaDainian Tomlinson, who
is also a native Texan and active philanthropist, will speak to students and help
kick off the annual Souper Bowl of Caring “Tackle Hunger” campaign. Once
again, North Texans are uniting together through Souper Bowl of Caring to
transform the time of the Super Bowl into the nation’s largest celebration of
giving and serving.
The three-week drive starts at 8:10am Tuesday, Jan. 15 at Tanglewood
Elementary in Fort Worth with a student rally including food collection, student
hunger art project, entertainment provided by Radio Disney, New Country 96.3
KSCS, Radio H20, Papa Murphy’s Pizza and special guest appearance by one
of the Minions from Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s
DESPICABLE ME 2.
LaDainian Tomlinson and community leaders will be on-site in support of the
school and collaboration between competitors including food retailers Albertsons
Market, Kroger, Market Street and Tom Thumb; North Texas Food Bank and
Tarrant Area Food Bank; along with school and student leaders who will be
available for interviews beginning at 8:15 a.m. prior to the press conference at
8:45 a.m. which includes a proclamation from the office of Fort Worth Mayor,
Betsy Price.
“We are excited to be kicking-off this year’s national campaign in North Texas.
This is a unique opportunity to set the example for the rest of the country and
engage young people through their schools and congregations and for local
businesses to come together” said Tracy Bender, President and CEO of Souper
Bowl of Caring.
Souper Bowl of Caring North Texas runs through NFL Super Bowl Sunday, Feb.
3, 2013. Organizers have set a community goal of collecting $1.3 million in cash
and food items with 100% of all donations benefiting local hunger-relief
agencies, including North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank.
-MORE-
Souper Bowl of Caring began as a simple youth group project in South Carolina
in 1990 and has grown into a national movement uniting people of all ages and
backgrounds to use the time around the Super Bowl to fight hunger and poverty.
For a complete list of participating community organizations or to view live
results in real-time, visit tacklehunger.org/dfw.
Souper Bowl of Caring North Texas is supported by the Dallas Cowboys;
competing food retailers Albertsons Market, Kroger, Market Street, Tom Thumb;
leading TV stations FOX 4 and My 27; NBC 5 and Telemundo Dallas; CBS 11
and TXA 21; and WFAA, Channel 8; local radio stations include CBS Radio
Stations-100.3 Jack FM, 98.7 KLUV, KRLD News Radio 1080, Mega 107.5,
103.7 Lite FM, 105.3 The Fan and Texas State Networks; Clear Channel Radio
Stations-102.1 The Edge, 106.1 Kiss FM, Now 102.9, 97.1 The Eagle, Lone Star
92.5 and 1190 AM; Univision Radio Stations-Radio H20-107.9 and Maxima
99.1 FM; Radio Disney AM 620; New Country 96.3 KSCS; The Dallas Morning
News; Star-Telegram and community partners, Medieval Times, Papa Murphy’s,
MOROCH Entertainment on behalf of Universal Pictures and more than 350
area schools and congregations.
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About Souper Bowl of Caring
Souper Bowl of Caring is a national youth-led movement of schools, congregations,
community organizations and compassionate individuals joining together to fight hunger and
poverty in their local communities, transforming the time around the Super Bowl into the
nation's largest celebration of giving and serving. Since the program started in 1990,
volunteers have collected more than $91 million in dollars and cans, with 100 percent of all
donations going directly to community food banks, soup kitchens or other hunger-relief
charities chosen by each participating group. For more information or to join the team, visit
tacklehunger.org.
About North Texas Food Bank
The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a nonprofit social benefit organization that distributes
donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of 300 Member Agencies and
1,000 feeding programs in 13 North Texas counties. NTFB supports the nutritional needs of
children, families and seniors through research, education, advocacy and strategic
partnerships. In FY 2011, NTFB provided access to nearly 33 million nutritious meals.
Founded in 1982, NTFB is a member of Feeding America (feedingamerica.org). Imagine…a
world without hunger, visit ntfb.org.
About Tarrant Area Food Bank
Founded in 1982 as a nonprofit clearinghouse for donated food, Tarrant Area Food Bank is
the primary source of food for 300 major hunger-relief programs in Fort Worth and 13
surrounding counties. Each month, this network of charities provides emergency groceries to
more than 40,000 households and serves 570,000 meals and snacks on their own sites.
During the past year (fiscal year 2011), Tarrant Area Food Bank distributed enough food
(25.6 million pounds) for nearly 20 million meals. For more information, please visit
www.tafb.org, or call 817-332-9177. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter as
TAFoodBank.