Julianne Shawaryn (top row, left to right), Kaitlyn Roberts, Ava CaseySuess, Everett CaseySuess, Jakob Schmierer, Dilan Meswani, Alexander Tsai, Alexis Kim (bottom row, left to right), Neeka Vojdani, Ruhi Abrol, Cassie Nguyen and Bella de Villava are members of the Interact Club.
The Moorestown High School Interact Club will host its 25th annual Soup for the Soul charity event at the Community House of Moorestown from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8.
‘“I’m looking back on the past four years that I’ve done it, so it’s really nice to see where we’ve come from and the direction that we’re going in,” said senior chair and organizer Kaitlyn Roberts. “It’s been amazing to see the growth of it, as well as looking at all my fellow community members.
“The amount of work and effort that they’ve put into it is really inspiring.”
All event proceeds are donated to Philabundance, a nonprofit food bank that serves the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley areas and also works to reduce food waste, increase access to nutritious meals and tackle the root causes of hunger through programs such as its Community Kitchen.
“We’re able to come together and contribute something and make a difference to our community, which is really nice to see,” Roberts noted.
“It always feels good to help the community,” stated sophomore Everett CaseySuess. “I’m honored to be a part of this event, and just being able to do it every year, and to be a part of it.”
The student-run event includes a buffet meal with all-you-can-eat soup and bread donated by local restaurants. Tickets will be sold at the door and are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors and children. A $10 takeout option includes a container of soup and two pieces of bread. There will also be live music, a silent auction and raffles. This year’s donation goal is $5,000.
“Without the support of Moorestown, I don’t think the event would run smoothly,” Roberts observed. “The sponsorships that we get – even the soup and bread donations – without the community rallying around this, we wouldn’t have the event. Just the ability that Moorestown gathers around this effort to contribute to this is really inspiring.”
“There is definitely a lot of support from Moorestown to get this done,” CaseySuess added.
Soup for the Soul is the club’s longest-running event. Different groups help put it together, including the school’s advertising, raffle, soup-and-bread and sponsorship committees.
“Each year, we’re getting the gears a little more tuned for the event,” Roberts explained. “It’s nice to see everyone come and all of our hard work be eaten, I should say, for the soup.”
“It’s very satisfying to see months of work come into one event for a couple of hours,” CaseySuess offered, “and just to see how many people come to this event. It just makes you feel good at the event and after.”
