The Bengals’ historic Super Bowl appearance has given companies a unique opportunity for philanthropic endeavors.
Italian company Prysmian Group (formerly General Cable), which operates in the energy and telecommunication systems industry, and which has its North American operations in Highland Heights, announced the Souper Bowl Food Drive. The Souper Bowl has a goal of collecting 1,989 items to honor the year the Bengals last made an appearance in the big game.
Prysmian Group acquired General Cable in 2018.
The food drive kicked off last Monday, Jan. 31 and continues through Feb. 11. All non-perishable items collected will be donated to Northern Kentucky University’s FUEL NKU food pantry, which serves local students who face food insecurity. FUEL NKU is located right next to NKU.
“Everyone is very excited about the Bengals, and our Human Resources team came up with this great idea to leverage that excitement for a worthy cause,” Andrea Pirondini, Prysmian CEO, North America, said. “We wanted to support college students dealing with food insecurity. We connected with FUEL NKU and will deliver the food items down the street to NKU.”
FUEL NKU is open to all NKU students. For the Fall 2021 Semester, FUEL NKU served more than 1,000 students and distributed over 42,000 pounds of food, drinks and personal products.
“I was really pleased to learn Prysmian was collecting items for us because we get a lot of support from churches and community groups but not a lot through donation drives,” Nick Bliven, FUEL NKU program coordinator, said. “Students are still struggling with the hidden cost associated with college- like books and parking. It’s important for them to know their basic needs are being filled through FUEL NKU, and we appreciate all donations.”
Planning for the Souper Bowl began before the Bengals AFC Championship Game victory. Organizers of the food drive hoped the Bengals continued their playoff winning streak. In order to increase employee engagement and find new ways to give back to the community. Prysmian Group re-established its Engagement and Outreach Committee.
“The Bengals are having such a great year, and I thought it would be fun to tie it all together with the play on words, super/souper. Who knew we’d be going to the Super Bowl? I was as surprised as anyone,” Jan Rouse, Prysmian internal communications manager, said. “It’s great to see the donations continue to come in, and we even had to get a second cart to hold all the items.”
The week of Prysmian’s Super Bowl celebrations culminates on Friday with a pizza tailgate and raffle for Bengals gear and gift baskets. All the items collected in the Souper Bowl Food Drive will be handed off to FUEL NKU next week. For those interested in donating or learning more about FUEL NKU, visit its website.
-Staff Report