At Sebring High School, located in Highlands County in South Central Florida, Steve VanDam has been shaping students into great people for more than thirty years. Along the way the students in Sebring’s Art Club and National Junior Honor Society have raised more than $300,000 to benefit local families in need through an annual fundraising event,
The event, which occurs on the third Thursday in February, brings hundreds of members of the community together to feast on soup, bread and desserts and to purchase soup bowls created by the students. To get an idea of the scale of the event, more than 1,700 servings of soup were prepared for this year’s event which took place last week.
Soup for the Arts was inspired by events in VanDam’s childhood. He lost his mother to cancer when he was only nine years old and was touched by how the community and his church came together to help his family in their time of struggle. So, when Van Dam began his teaching career he wanted to “find something I could do as a way to give back…this is in memory of her and helps keep her memory alive.” Importantly, he wanted to be sure that students were central to the fundraiser to help them “learn the value of community.”
Our state is full of impactful stories of professors, teachers and education staff professionals who show up and make a difference in the lives of their students and colleagues.
Help us tell their stories by filling out this brief form to nominate someone to be featured in FEA’s member spotlights.
