"Souperbowl" of Caring
Imagine Bella Academy serves students in grades K-7 and promotes the whole child, striving for excellence in academics and character.
About You
About You
First Name
Elizabeth
Last Name
Soeder
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Imagine Bella Academy of Excellence (Imagine Schools)
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, OH, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, OH, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization
Your role in Education
Teacher.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Our need, within our school, is to develop a student body that is focused in on the needs of others in their communities, is empathetic to those needs and is actively involved in creating solutions as to how they can care for those needs. It is important to us that our students are the fore front leaders in these endeavors. As an Imagine school, we value student choice in decision making understanding that we are inspiring future leaders in America.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
In our Souperbowl of Caring, classrooms collect cans for our local hunger center and work on projects that meet the needs of others in our community. When our students enter Kindergarten, they choose a care group that they would like to care for. Students research the needs of their group and collaborate with their classmates to come up with a project that would best address those needs. As the students move up each grade level, they write reflections on how they have cared for their group in the past, what the needs are currently and how they can better reach out in the coming year. Students present their care projects at our Souperbowl of Caring pep rally in which we celebrate their outreach to others.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Our solution makes a difference through high student involvement. In her written reflection, one of our fifth graders commented that “the Souperbowl of Caring has helped me to care more about helping others and the environment”. She has participated in the Souperbowl of Caring for three years now caring for the environment. In their first year, they sought to plant and care for trees. The second year they raised money for organizations that supported the environment. This year they made their care project more service oriented by cleaning litter around school grounds and city parks. When asked if the Souperbowl has helped her to understand the needs of the environment more and develop a heart for caring for the environment, the same fifth grade student responded by saying “definitely! I didn’t care as much before but now I really do”. Her growth is not only seen in her comments and reflections, but in the progression of her classes care projects over the years from minimal involvement to service oriented projects.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Several organizations donate to hunger centers, plant trees in local parks or hold assemblies honoring our community leaders, however our endeavors are vastly different. The Souperbowl of Caring is entirely student run. It’s a reflective process from year to year that our students use to evaluate their own character and their own efforts in reaching out to their community in which they live. This event empowers our students with responsibility and decision making offering them an opportunity to truly get to know those they are serving while developing a committed heart as opposed to a one time thought.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Imagine Bella Academy serves students in grades K-7 and promotes the whole child, striving for excellence in academics and character.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
Souperbowl of Caring is innovative because it provides opportunity for student decision making at all levels and leadership roles.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
To date, we have collected over 6,000 cans for a local hunger center in our area. Each year we restock this center with our donations from Souperbowl of Caring. Since each classroom is responsible for caring for a different care group in our community, over the past three years our students have continued to meet the needs of community service members, veterans, active soldiers from our area, the elderly in our nursing homes, teachers, parents, city parks and streets, city schools including our own, and our city government. Our outreach through this event is wide spread and lasting as our students continue to see how they can better meet the needs of their care group from year to year.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We project that next year we will be able to donate double the amount of cans that were donated this past year. We also project that our impact on the community will be much greater than in years past through the implementation of service learnning projects for our older students.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Students will have care projects and fundraising ventures planned.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Students will be assigned to classroom task forces and decision makers will be appointed.
Task 2
In a written evaluation, students will reflect on last year's achievements and set goals for the upcoming year.
Task 3
Students will research and seek advice on different fundraising possibilities.
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Souperbowl of Caring will double the amount of donations made and create more service oriented care projects.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
We will inform parents of the annual competition at the onset of school so families can plan ahead.
Task 2
We will help student task forces by providing the tools to reach out to community organizations to plan for service.
Task 3
We will reach out to local organizations for food items to increase our annual donations.
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
Our physical education teacher was looking for different ideas that could inspire our students in leadership and character development when she came upon the Souperbowl of Caring. Although the Souperbowl of Caring is a nation wide event, she had the vision of making it personal and relevant to our campus. Normally, Souperbowl of Caring does one service project as a school. She envisioned each class doing a care project each year that focused on one specific care group so that our students could develop more ownership and have more involvement impacting greater portions of our community. Her hope was that upon graduation, students would develop a heart of caring for one specific group allowing them to be more sympathetic to others in need.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
Imagine Bella Academy of Excellence partners with University Settlement during the Souperbowl of Caring. University Settlement is a local food drive that supports families in our area. All canned and dried goods are donated at the conclusion of the event. The director of University Settlement participates in our concluding pep rally, sharing stories with our students of how their donations have made a difference.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
The character education committee is made up of ten faculty members. Each year the character education committee defines, assesses and reflects on character goals for the upcoming year. This committee is responsible for ensuring that the Souperbowl of Caring is successful in achieving its goals.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
 | 60 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 60 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 60 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 60 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 61 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 61 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 61 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 61 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder updated this Competition Entry. |
| 61 weeks ago Elizabeth Soeder submitted this idea. |
