Super (Souper) Bowl brings smiles, raises money

With 22 massive bowls of soup and 300 handmade bowls, the school “Souper Bowl” brings smiles to all, reaching the heart of all who try the delicious concoctions.

The Souper Bowl was held on April 20 in the cafeteria, attracting more than 300 people. The event raised roughly $2,500 for the ceramics program.

“The room was packed for about three hours with people warming their hearts with soup,” said ceramics teacher Leah Aguayo, who organized the event.

With the bowls made by students in her ceramics class and delicious soup recipes to go with them, the Souper Bowl was a big hit.

During the Souper Bowl, students, parents and other people around the community enjoyed “all you can eat” black bean soup, vegetarian, gluten free minestrone and chicken noodle soup for only a
donation of $10.

“I enjoyed the pleasant environment, and particularly liked the black bean soup,” said sophomore Eric Tang. “I felt as though a lot of effort was put into it.”

Though the Souper Bowl is commonly thought of as only a fundraiser for ceramics, Aguayo believes the event is for the community.

“The Souper Bowl is not only a fundraiser for the ceramics classes, but it also another purpose of building a sense of community in our area,” said Aguayo. “The Los Gatos ceramics class helped out in this event, providing 40-50 bowls for us.”

This year, the Souper Bowl was almost cancelled due to an initial lack of volunteers and Aguayo’s busy schedule; however, with help from parents and outside support, the event was able to occur.

“I really just couldn’t do it without the parents, especially the efforts of Mrs. Doles, who really came through for me,” Aguayo said. “The support from students and the merchants like Gene’s Fine Foods, who paid for the vegetables, helped to bring everything together.”

Though the early planning may have been rough, the Souper Bowl did end in a most heartwarming, delicious way.

“It was a huge success and it really made me so happy to see people are enjoying my students’ artwork and enjoying my students’ soup,” Aguayo said.