Last Sunday more than 10,000 people came to Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., where the Senior Bowl will be played this coming Saturday. But those gathered last Sunday didn’t come to cheer on their favorite college players. Instead, they were there for a hand up from Convoy of Hope.
“My husband is unemployed right now,” said one honored guest who attended the outreach. “So, this is a very big help.”
Not only did guests receive a free meal, groceries, haircuts, family portraits, shoes, job training and health and dental screenings they were also invited to spend time running through football drills on the field that were similar to drills National Football League prospects run for pro scouts.
“The city-wide outreach was a Senior Bowl-sanctioned event,” says Dan Clark, a Convoy of Hope outreach director. “Eighty local churches and organizations such as Winners Influence, Victory Health Partners and United Way helped make the outreach a success.”
More than $1.5 million worth of goods and services were distributed by 2,097 volunteers during the outreach.
“We’re grateful to the Senior Bowl for giving us an opportunity to help so many people in Mobile,” says Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope. “In the future, we hope the outreach model used in Mobile can be replicated around the nation at other sporting and entertainment venues.”
