Souper Bowl at Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsborough sets school record

TYNGSBOROUGH, Mass. – The big game in New Orleans wasn’t the only event setting records recently. The Academy of Notre Dame’s fifth annual Souper Bowl of Caring fundraiser nearly doubled its food drive collection goal for the Merrimack Valley Food Bank. The drive, sponsored by the Junior BETA Club, collected 1,968 perishable items and more than $350 in a one-week period, surpassing all previous drives. The Junior BETA Club, led by guidance counselor Sherry Houle, is a service-oriented honor society for seventh- and eighth-grade students whose mission is “to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and secondary school students.” “The group’s motto is to ‘Let us lead by serving others,’ ” Houle said. “These young men and women truly embraced that for this event with the way they got the whole school involved to give back to the community.