By John Rohlf, The Message assistant editor
Through over $5,000 in donations at the 10th annual Friday Knights Hunger Bowl football game and donations from the community, the Friday Knights Hunger Bowl committee reached their goal of $50,000 raised for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.
Friday Knights Hunger Bowl Co-Chair Mark Hackert confirmed on Sept. 18 that over $50,100 had been raised through the Friday Knights Hunger Bowl for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry. This includes over $5,600 that was raised at the annual Friday Knights Hunger Bowl football clash between Evansville Mater Dei and Reitz Memorial High Schools. Reitz Memorial (4-0) earned a 52-21 road win over Mater Dei (3-1) Sept. 11 at the Reitz Bowl in Evansville.
This year is the 10th annual Friday Knights Hunger Bowl. Over the 10 years of the initiative, over $210,000 has been raised through efforts of the area Catholic grade and high schools, 10 area Knights of Columbus councils, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus assembly, Columbiettes auxiliary, at the football game and with donations from the community.
When they started the Friday Knights Hunger Bowl, their expectations were modest, Co-Chair John Sandwell said.
“The goal for the first year was $3,000, which felt like a stretch at the time,” Sandwell said. “Each year since, we have been amazed by the incredible generosity of the Catholic community. The event has grown every single year, despite challenges like COVID, heavy rain, blazing heat or extreme cold.”
Ashley Newell, executive director for District Council of Evansville at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said the goal of the fundraiser is to raise vital funds for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, which serves over 31,000 local individuals each year.
This is the largest annual donation received by the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Newell said.
“By offsetting a significant portion of our food costs, these funds allow us to purchase more food, serve more neighbors and add essential items that create more complete, nutritious food packages for the families we serve.”
Mark Hackert said besides the obvious goal of raising funds to feed the hungry, they also hope through this initiative to raise awareness of the problem of the hungry, which is something that is an ongoing need.
“(We) felt that the Catholic schools and community would continue to support it,” Hackert said, reflecting on the start of the initiative. “Our goal was to find ways to include people in the FKHB (Friday Knights Hunger Bowl).”
Hackert said each year, they have looked to add new layers to the giving and awareness. Four years ago, Hackert said, Joe Cook, who was executive director of the Evansville District of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at the time, approached them to offer help with marketing for the annual initiative. This offered them a way to have an online presence, Hackert said.