On January 29, the Wally Allen Ballroom will be filled with around 1,800 hungry Arkansans, muffin tins in tow, celebrating the 36th anniversary of Little Rock’s Soup Sunday and 40 years of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF). The family-friendly event will feature gallons of soups, desserts and breads from over 30 local restaurants to raise money for the future of Arkansas children.
Behind this year’s Soup Sunday are two close-knit sisters and Little Rock natives Jill Kamps and Jamie Brainard. Two years apart and with decidedly different career paths, the co-chairs for this year’s event are yin and yang. Jill is a deputy prosecuting attorney with the state of Arkansas, whose keen eye and sharp mind have made a difference in many lives through her work in both juvenile and adult circuit courts. Jamie, with her buoyant personality and infectious laughter, is the director of alumni engagement at Hendrix College.
Jill has been attending Soup Sunday since the event’s early days at Cajun’s Wharf — which it quickly outgrew. Later, Jamie attended her first Soup Sunday when her husband Ben served as the patron chef at the Embassy Suites location. Soup Sunday has since graduated to the Statehouse Convention Center — the largest event space in town capable of housing the 1,800 attendees that are expected again this year. Jill joined the Soup Sunday committee and quickly recruited Jamie for her background in event planning and fundraising. Mallory Van Dover, the development director for AACF, approached Jill and Jamie about co-chairing this year’s event. The two sisters unanimously agreed.
2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of AACF’s impact on the state of Arkansas. The nonprofit policy advocacy organization was formed by 10 prominent Arkansans, including Hillary Clinton, in 1977. Clinton was appointed the first president of AACF’s board of directors and helped model the charity after the Children’s Defense Fund, a Washington D.C.-based organization that Clinton became involved with after finishing law school.
AACF’s founding mission statement proclaimed that it was “a nonprofit, state-wide organization of private citizens working for the protection, education and well-being of our state’s children.” Today, the mission statement has only slightly altered to include the phrase, “…to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential.” AACF achieves this mission by serving as a voice for policy advocacy at the Arkansas State Capitol and in Washington D.C., gathering comprehensive data to support public policy and organizing coalitions to drive change.
One of their many accomplishments includes being a large advocator for ARKids First, a children’s health insurance program that provides health coverage to nearly 8 million children and families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage. Today, the number of uninsured children in Arkansas is at a historic low of 4.9%.
“The more we can do for the children of this state as a whole, the better the state will be,” Jamie says. “Arkansas leads in so many negative statistics in the nation. The only thing we’re actually positive leaders in are how many insured Arkansans we have in this state. We’re number one because of ARKids First.”
Another AACF top priority is pre-kindergarten education. Recently, Governor Asa Hutchinson designated $3 million for the next three years for quality pre-k education, but the AACF would like to see more support from the state in the coming years. As working mothers, both Jamie and Jill have vested interests in the continuation of state funding for pre-k education.
“When we were little, you just showed up at kindergarten and nobody really knew a whole lot of anything,” Jill says. “But now, you’ve got all these kids who have a jumpstart, especially for lower income families who have to work to pay the bills. They, like me, don’t have time to spend teaching their kids on a weeknight when they get home. I think pre-k education is so important for learning the skills that you need for kindergarten and life — not just ABCs and math and writing your name, but the social skills too.”
When it comes to the money that will be raised at this year’s Soup Sunday, Jill and Jamie both agree that advocating for pre-k education is what they’re most excited to see it go towards.
“When you think about quality pre-k education, you have to think about the long-term effects,” Jamie says. “For every dollar the state spends on a small child, they’ll see a $7 return as that child becomes an adult. It’s a huge philosophy that needs to be — has to be — more focused upon. We’re advocating for more of our children.”
Jill and Jamie are perfect examples of the type of people who devote their time to the AACF, working around busy schedules as mothers and career women. Being co-chairs on this year’s Soup Sunday has been a breeze for the two, who are also best friends.
“It’s been easy,” Jamie says. “It’s an easy organization to raise money for. A lot of people believe in its philosophy. The community is familiar with Soup Sunday, so whenever we have to ask for an auction item or sponsorship, usually the response is, ‘Absolutely. Let me just figure out how much I can give.’”
“Our committee’s really exciting too,” Jill adds. “We have people on the committee who have been involved with Soup Sunday since almost the very beginning. Then we have brand new people who have only known about it for a year or two.”
With this year’s anniversary of AACF and the 36th year of Soup Sunday in Little Rock, Jamie and Jill are looking to make it the best yet. The anniversary has brought in big sponsors like the Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Sysco Arkansas. With the help of Jamie and her husband’s friendships in the restaurant business, the committee hopes to spotlight even more restaurants from Little Rock’s local food scene.
“We’re really excited that Chris McMillan with Boulevard Bread Company is going to be our patron chef for the private patron room,” Jamie says. “My husband will be there to represent Yellow Rocket with three of our restaurants. We’re going to have Local Lime, Heights Taco & Tamale and Zaza’s serving soup.”
That’s just to name a few. Jill and Jamie’s goal is to have 30 restaurants serving soup and 10 more bringing desserts and breads. A live auction will take place following the success of last year, hosted by emcee Craig O’Neill, along with a silent auction. Plus, the event has a child-friendly atmosphere.
“It’s one of the few events that you can wear jeans to,” Jamie says. “And it’s from 4-7. You can still get your kids home and put to bed in time since you’ve got school in the morning. We have a whole kid-friendly zone with face painting, hot dogs and balloons. It’s just a fun event.
“So far it’s been shaping up to be one of the most successful years of Soup Sunday. Last year was really successful, but it just keeps getting better.”
SOUP SUNDAY
January 29, 4-7 p.m.
Wally Allen Ballroom, Statehouse Convention Center
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 after 5 p.m. on Friday, January 27th.
Tickets for children 5-17 are $10 and children younger than 5 are free.
To buy tickets, visit ARAdvocates.org.