Catholic Charities receiving treats from across the country after friendly wager
By Charles Christian
Among the thousands of bets made about the Super Bowl, a local charity even took part in a friendly wager, and the nonprofit’s counterpart in San Francisco is paying up with some of its city’s staples.
Before the big game, Catholic Charities of Kansas City/St. Joseph made a friendly bet with its sister organization, Catholic Charities of San Francisco. The local Catholic Charities issued a video challenge, and San Francisco quickly accepted. Susan Walker of Kansas City/St. Joseph said both organizations felt this wager was a great way to highlight the best things about their respective cities, including the two football teams.
“The Chiefs are one of the best things about Kansas City,” Walker said. “And we hope that Catholic Charities is one of the best things, too. And there’s so many things to share with our friendly rivals in San Francisco.”
In the video challenge, Kansas City/St. Joseph CEO Karen Noel said the winning team would receive a basket of goodies from the other city. Kansas City’s requested list of goodies included San Francisco staples like fresh sourdough bread, Dungeness crab and Ghirardelli chocolates. Chief Philanthropy Officer Thomas Bowen of San Francisco, in the online wager acceptance video, mentioned Kansas City favorites like ribs and barbecue sauce.
With the Chiefs victory in Super Bowl 58, the San Francisco office is prepared to pay up. However, according to Susan Walker of the Kansas City/St. Joseph offices, the San Francisco office will not leave the friendly wager empty-handed.
“In the spirit of camaraderie, we’re pulling together some barbecue sauce and some dry rub and some Russel Stover’s candy,” Walker said. “This is a friendly wager, and we want them to experience some of the things we appreciate about Kansas City.”
In the spirit of optimism, the Kansas City/St. Joseph offices of Catholic Charities said they are budgeting funds for next season in order to make another friendly wager, hoping that the Chiefs will make a run at three Super Bowls in a row.
