Special to the News-Herald

Winter boating really can be a lot of fun. Over the next few weeks this column will look at ways to dress as warmly and with the most flexibility possible. We’ll also look at ways to winterize your boat to have fun and stay warm, if you lay your boat up we will talk about strategies to start revving up for next spring.

Today’s column however looks at soup. Yes….soup.

I’ll tell you right off I am a big soup eater. Soup is great. There is nothing better than a steaming cup of Chowder or Chunky Beef soup on a crisp winter afternoon to warm you up and get you going. Doesn’t matter if you are fishing, sightseeing or racing – like the ad reads – soup is good food, especially on the water! It is easy to eat, fills you up and keeps you warm.

OK, why is your favorite boating columnist writing about soup? Well my reason is actually very important and can directly effect those that are cold and hungry this holiday season.

Since my arrival here in Hampton Roads three plus years ago I have been incredibly impressed with the efforts many local organizations have in feeding the homeless. Recently I found out a way that individuals can help those less fortunate from the comfort of their home or office. From talking with several homeless that I have met at our church’s Homeless Shelter last year I got the impression that hearty soup is one of the best meals offered to fend off cold and fill an empty stomach.

Here’s the deal. Chunky Soup has teamed with the 32 National Football League Teams to donate up to five million cans of Campbell’s soup through a variety of charities. To get to that five million can level people need to get involved – hence Suffolk Boaters here is a chance to help feed someone in less than two minutes from your computer.

Could it be any easier? Go to the following Web site: http://www.chunky.com/click_for_cans.asp. Once you get there you’ll see the pictures of all 32 NFL football teams. Pick the helmet of your favorite team (if you don’t have a favorite team or hate football just pick any team). As soon as you click the helmet a can of soup is donated to the area where that team is located. Then click on your favorite team’s helmet and Campbell has donated a can of soup. You can see how well that particular area is doing by looking at the team totals.

There is another neat twist. You can go to this web site once every 24-hour period, simply click on a site and donate another can of soup. I have done this for the past two weeks and helped feed 14 people in my hometown of Baltimore. This is all it takes…a few clicks of a mouse.

Until next week, stay warm, stay safe….and please help the boaters.