J.L. Boren Elementary Students Give
Back Through Soup-er Bowl Drive
MISD | Although second-grade
teacher Cheryl Wisch didn’t watch
the Super Bowl, she has some
other traditions that made this
time of year special to her. For
about 20 years, she has led a Super
Bowl-themed canned food drive at
her campus.
The students also wore their favorite jerseys in honor of the event.
I think it’s important to
help others because some
people don’t have food, and
then they can have food to
stay alive and be healthy.
~ Landry Slinkard,
second-grader
Boren Elementary
30 | Mansfield ISD TODAY
During the Soup-er Bowl Soup
Drive, teachers and students of J.L.
Boren Elementary School collect
cans to give to those in need. The
drive is part of a service project for
Bears Care, the school’s student
council.
“I knew that food pantries
after Christmas start running low
because they’re depleted during
Christmas,” said Wisch. “I’m trying
to connect what’s happening in
the world with ways to help others,
so I came up with soup and Super
Bowl because I know most of the
kids do watch the Super Bowl.”
The Soup-er Bowl Soup
Drive occurs annually the
week before and after
the Super Bowl. Boren
Elementary usually
donates about 15 boxes
of canned goods to the
Mansfield Mission Center.
“When we receive
donations to our Mission Market,
it gives families in our community
another way to put food on the
table if they’re having financial
difficulties,” said Carmin MacMillian,
executive director of Mansfield
Mission Center. “It’s a way to show
them love and let them know their
community cares about them. We
couldn’t do what we do without
the generosity of MISD.”
Wisch said she enjoys doing
the canned food drive because the
students get to experience giving
to others with no reward.
“We try very hard to teach our
kids service for others, and I think
the parents appreciate we are
trying to teach our students that,”
she said.
Students who participated
said they feel they are making a
difference by bringing the cans.
“I think it’s important to help
others because some people don’t
have food, and then they can have
food to stay alive and be healthy,”
said Landry Slinkard, second-grader
at Boren Elementary.
Their team may not have
won the big game on Sunday,
but Soup-er Bowl Soup Drive
organizers said the drive is still a
touchdown for the community.
The Mansfield Mission Center is
open to donations from anyone. Its
hours are Monday through Friday
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.