When Kelly and Matt Steliga moved to Little Rock more than a decade ago, one of the first people they met worked for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
“She told us about this neat, fun family event called Soup Sunday,” Kelly recalls. “So our daughters have been going since they were toddlers, running around the dance floor popping balloons, doing limbo and trying some soup.”
Now teenagers, Allie, 16, and Claire, 14, have not only grown up with Soup Sunday, but also moved up to help as volunteers as they’ve gotten older. They both remember fondly the pride they felt when they swapped their muffin tins filled with soup samples for blue volunteer aprons for the very first time. The event has grown, too, with this year’s fundraiser moving to the Jack Stephens Center at UA Little Rock to accommodate a larger crowd.
The parents’ involvement increased with time as well.
“It evolved into being asked to be a committee member, ” Kelly says, “so I began to learn more and more about what AACF does. And the next thing I know, they asked if our family would be interested in chairing the event.”
The Steligas are the first family to chair the event, and AACF Development Director Fran Carter says their selection aligns with Soup Sunday’s family-friendly focus.
“Kids are not only allowed to be there, but they’re encouraged to be there,” Matt says. “There are kids volunteering and a lot of kid-centered activities.”
“As a kid who went to this for many years, I’ve always enjoyed it and looked forward to it, so I think lots of other kids would also enjoy this event,” Allie adds.
Despite soup being the star of the show, she confesses her sights are set on the desserts.
Claire seconds her sister on the sweet treats, but says most of the time she can be found on the dance floor.
“I like helping out with Soup Sunday because it has more of an impact on people than other things I could be doing [as a teenager],” Claire says. “This allows me to make a change in the community and help out others.”
“Definitely my favorite thing about the event is that no matter your age, you’re going to have a good time,” Carter says. “You can come by yourself, with a date or your family and you’re going to have fun.”
Kelly notes often seeing the same big families return each year, turning it into an annual tradition that brings everyone together.
But fun and flavor aside, the Steliga family stays focused on Soup Sunday’s purpose: raising funds to help AACF advance resources and opportunities for Arkansas children and families through policy and advocacy.
“For several years, Arkansas has consistently ranked as one of the top five poorest states,” executive director Keesa Smith-Brantley says. “Our work at AACF is to show that many Arkansans get up every day and work jobs — sometimes more than one — but are still hurting due to systems and policies that continually make it harder to thrive.”
Smith-Brantley lists low-wage positions, the state’s growing food and health care deserts and the lack of robust public transportation as a few of those barriers to success.
“Many people feel like they can’t make a difference, but changes don’t really happen overnight,” Allie says. “Even though it’s scary, it’s important to stand up and encourage others to stand up and work together to push toward change so it builds on itself.”
AACF Community Engagement Director Rebecca Zimmerman says public policy has the power to improve the lives of 700,000 Arkansas kids.
“If we want to solve problems and protect solutions, advocacy is the best tool for creating significant and lasting change,” Zimmerman says. “Kids are counting on us to use our voices to speak up for them when important decisions are being made at the local, state and federal level.”
According to Zimmerman, effective policies have led to significant initiatives such as ARKids First, increased investment in pre-K education, a higher state minimum wage and improvements in the juvenile justice system, among others.
“If people don’t think certain issues are a big problem or think the problem is unchangeable, they’re not going to act on it,” Matt says. “So we must step in, define the issue, bring awareness to the scope of it and then show a future of betterment out there. I think that’s when people start to understand there’s usefulness and value in making those changes.”
AACF is committed to advancing dialogue on significant issues and increasing public awareness throughout Arkansas, consistently working to enhance the quality of life for all residents in the state.
“There’s a lot of noise out there, and a lot of people believe what they’re told without digging into the facts,” Kelly says. “Advocates get down to the facts and are able to present the case in a neutral way.”
“When you make policy changes, it sets a new course for the future,” Matt says. “It doesn’t just change something today. It’s fixing system-wide challenges and barriers that will point us in the direction of something enduring and sustainable.”
SOUP SUNDAY, BENEFITING ARKANSAS ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES
March 1, 3:30 p.m. | Jack Stephens Center
Info: aradvocates.org/events
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JASON MASTERS
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