Nease and Valley Ridge students raise $20,000 for Blessings in a Backpack

Celebration for Nease and Valley Ridge Raising $20,000

Allen D. Nease High School and Valley Ridge Academy students helped raise about $20,000 for hungry students in St. Johns County schools through the First Coast Blessings in a Backpack program. Nease’s cafeteria was temporarily transformed into a soup-tasting venue for the event.

Students at Allen D. Nease High School and Valley Ridge Academy tackled hunger in St. Johns County at this year’s inaugural SOUPer Bowl soup-tasting event.

The Feb. 4 event featured 20 local chefs and their gourmet soups, with the aim to raise $10,000 to benefit Nease’s Blessings in a Backpack service program, which added The Webster School’s elementary students-in-need program to the effort.

The sold-out event at Nease exceeded its goal through the help of corporate sponsors, donors and attendees and ended the night with more than $20,000 raised to fight hunger in the county.