Thursday, November 29, 2012

Olympian Leads Food For The Poor 5K Walk/Run to Feed Record Number

Untitled Document COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 29, 2012) – Approximately 700 South Floridians gathered at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach on Saturday, Nov. 17, to stomp out hunger alongside Olympic medalist Yohan Blake. Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger raised enough money to feed 1,500 destitute children and their families in the Caribbean and Latin America for a year.

Blake, a Jamaican Olympic Gold and Silver medalist and Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, handed out bottles of WATA brand bottled water and motivated participants across the finish line. The racers ranged between 8 and 78 years old.
 
“I know what it is to be hungry and so I respect what Food For The Poor is doing,” said Blake, one of the world’s fastest sprinters.

Thanks to the charity’s low administrative ratio and purchasing power, Food For The Poor can feed a family of four for $14.60 a month. Donations to this effort are accepted at www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk.

The fastest male was Kevin Channer with a time of 17:45.2. The fastest female was Ann Rodriguez with a time of 24:12.2.

Additional race results are available online at http://tinyurl.com/cx9ctuy.

Cans of food donated by 5K Walk/Run participants and a check to purchase turkeys were presented to “Big Mama,” Essie Reed, founder of Team of Life nonprofit, to benefit needy families in South Florida in time for Thanksgiving.

The 5K Walk/Run was presented by Winn-Dixie.  Event sponsors included Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Bru’s Room, The Consul General of Jamaica, Corner Bakery Cafe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Humana, Kona Ice, KPA Promotion, Muffuletta, PNC, Polyglass, Runners Edge, Sun-Sentinel, TeamReliv, The WOW Factory, Tijuana Flats, WATA, Wells Fargo and World of Beer.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. 

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Food For The Poor Joins the National #GivingTuesday Movement

Untitled Document COCONUT CREEK, Fla., (Nov. 27, 2012) – Today, the first #GivingTuesday, kicks off the season of giving. Food For The Poor is among more than 2,000 charities who are urging consumers to look beyond Black Friday and Cyber Monday to the importance of giving back.

Food For The Poor joined #GivingTuesday to harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners – charities, families, businesses and individuals.

“Food For The Poor is extremely excited and proud to be a part of this movement, where hundreds of nonprofits working in the United States and in various countries are spreading the news about the beauty of giving back,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “It is my hope that individuals who learn about #GivingTuesday will support their charities and causes of choice and take part in helping to create a better world.”

When Food For The Poor’s Executive Director was invited to write a blog entry for the Huffington Post as part of the #GivingTuesday initiative, he thought right away of a donor who has experienced both tribulation and triumph this past year.

Longtime donor Barbara Gilbert rejoiced at the completion of one of her Food For The Poor projects for the poor in Jamaica, but just weeks later was thrown into despair when she was told her son’s body was being assaulted by an infection and amputation of his limbs might be the only way to save him. 
Her story of the cycle of giving is on Huffington Post.

To join Food For The Poor’s #GivingTuesday initiative, visit www.foodforthepoor.org/givingtuesday.
View our gift catalog video at www.foodforthepoor.org/givingtuesdayvideo for creative ideas that will change lives long after the holiday season has ended. For $10, you can give the gift of a fruit tree, or you can choose to give farm animals such as chickens, pigs, goats, donkeys and cows, which will provide an income and a source of nutrition for destitute families.         
                                                                                       
For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website www.givingtuesday.org, Facebook page www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday or follow the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.


Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Friday, November 16, 2012

A Donor’s Story: Food For The Poor Shares the Gift of Giving

COCONUT Creek, Fla., (Nov. 16, 2012) – When Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma was invited to write a blog entry for the Huffington Post as part of the #GivingTuesday initiative, he thought right away of a donor who has experienced both tribulation and triumph this past year.

Dozens of bloggers representing charities around the world were asked to write about a project or person who has been a source of inspiration for a special series focused on #GivingTuesday. Starting Nov.1, and for the next 30 days, bloggers including Food For The Poor, will use the Huffington Post as a venue to share inspiring stories.
Longtime donor Barbara Gilbert rejoiced at the completion of one of her Food For The Poor projects for the poor in Jamaica, but just weeks later was thrown into despair when she was told her son’s body was being assaulted by an infection and amputation of his limbs might be the only way to save him.

Read her story of the cycle of giving.

“We have many donors who support this international development and relief agency, but Barbara is one of those donors whose circumstances in life give new meaning to the cycle of giving,” said Aloma. “One of the most valuable gifts we can give our families, friends and to our neighbors is the commitment to work together to make this world a better place.”

Food For The Poor is one of nearly 200 nonprofits invited by InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations, to take part in an initiative this holiday season where the act of sharing will take on a new meaning. 
On November 27, 2012, #GivingTuesday will use the power of social media to create a national movement around the holidays dedicated to giving.  For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website www.givingtuesday.org, Facebook page www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday or follow the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. 

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Monday, November 12, 2012

National FFA donates half a million meals to Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 8, 2012) – Thanks to the generosity of the National Future Farmers of America, the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor was able to ship half a million rice casserole meals to Haiti just one week after Hurricane Sandy left 54 dead and destroyed 70 percent of the country’s subsistence agricultural crops.

The bags were packed by volunteers and contain soy protein, dried vegetables and spices and provide nutritious food for four to six people, when mixed with boiling water. Through the efforts of caring donors, more than 16 million such meals have been shipped since January 2012 to countries served by Food For The Poor.

“Food insecurity is something all of us are seeing in our local communities more than ever before. We believe FFA can make a difference, and we envision a world where hunger will be a thing of the past,” said National FFA Chief Executive Officer W. Dwight Armstrong. “This was the largest single service event the National FFA Organization has ever conducted. More than 10,000 people gave their time and energy over two-and-a-half days right in the middle of our national convention, including students, teachers, staff and sponsors.”

The donation comes at a time when Hurricane Sandy’s damage has left Haiti in danger of a severe food crisis, putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk. Sixty-seven pallets of meals went out immediately to Port-au-Prince. “This beautiful gift of food literally will save the lives of children and their families who had very little before the storm, and now have absolutely nothing,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “I find it especially meaningful that these generous donors have not only packed these meals, but are committing their futures to finding solutions for feeding a growing global population.”

Three more pallets of the meals will be shipped next week with other necessary supplies to Cap-Haitien, where heavy rains on Thursday night reportedly resulted in the deaths of some infants and children.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America.

This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. 

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The WOW Factory Supports Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 8, 2012) – On Friday, Nov. 9, The WOW Factory will give thanks and donate 20 percent of the $20 admission fee to Coconut Creek-based nonprofits, including Food For The Poor. Come register for Food For The Poor’s 5K Walk/Run For Hunger and play unlimited video games from 5 to 8 p.m. at The WOW Factory, 5891 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla. You will have a great time while benefiting the charity.

"The WOW Factory appreciates all that the Coconut Creek-based non profits do for our community," said Tom Head, owner of The WOW Factory. “Come out and have an amazing, awesome, fun and all-around entertainment experience with games and attractions for all ages on Friday and we will donate 20 percent to support their good works.” The WOW Factory has more than 50 games and attractions, including Laser Tag, Ballocity, Adventure Climbing Wall, Sky Trail Elevated Ropes Course, Lazer Frenzy and video and redemption games. Food For The Poor will also have representatives available at the event to help register participants for the walk/run.

You can also register or make a donation to stomp out hunger alongside Jamaican Olympic medal winner Yohan Blake on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7 a.m. at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, Fla. While on the website, take advantage of free fundraising tips designed to help you reach your fundraising goal by sharing your ideas with family, friends, co-workers and contacts.

Cost of registration is $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-10. There’s no fee for children 5 and under. The registration cost includes a T-shirt for the first 1,500 who sign up. There will be refreshments, live music, balloon artists, face painters and more at this family event. Registration on the day of the event starts at 6:30 a.m., the walk/run begins at 7 a.m. and the awards ceremony is at 8 a.m.

Proceeds from this year’s 5K Walk/Run will assist in feeding destitute families throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. A generous donor has agreed to match every dollar raised with an additional dollar’s worth of food.

Participants are also encouraged to bring cans of food to the 5K Walk/Run to benefit needy families in South Florida. Requested Thanksgiving-themed sides include canned corn, sweet potato, green beans, pumpkin and cranberry sauce.

“We want to help spread Thanksgiving blessings to needy families in our community, too,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “With local food pantry shelves practically empty, we want to be able to bring the community together to address the need."

The 5K Walk/Run is presented by Winn-Dixie.  Event sponsors are Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Bru’s Room, The Consul General of Jamaica, Corner Bakery Cafe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Humana, Kona Ice, KPA Promotion, L.A. Fitness, Muffuletta, PNC, Polyglass, Runners Edge, Sun-Sentinel, TeamReliv, The WOW Factory, Tijuana Flats, WATA, Wells Fargo and World of Beer.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America.

This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. 
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Jenna Wolfe, TODAY Co-Anchor, to Headline at Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 6) – Jenna Wolfe, co-anchor of Weekend TODAY, will serve as master of ceremonies for Food For The Poor’s Palm Beach Gala, Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, at The Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach.

Wolfe’s participation is especially meaningful because she was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and proceeds from the gala will fund the expansion and renovation of Bluefields Health Centre. On a daily basis, the staff of the Jamaican health care facility struggles to provide adequate treatment to their patients, including pregnant mothers and sick children. 
“I would love to help out, especially since it's a cause near and dear to my heart,” said Wolfe. During an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Wolfe expressed her affection for the Caribbean nation and its sports teams with this statement, “When it comes to track and field in the Olympics, I bleed black, green and gold,” which are the colors of the Jamaican flag.

The annual event is chaired by distinguished Palm Beach philanthropists Patrick Park (Grand Honorary Chair), Arlette Gordon and Elizabeth Bowden (Honorary Chairs), Herme de Wyman Miro (International Chair), Mary Frances Turner (Ladies’ Committee Chair) and Russell Sherrill (Gentlemen’s Committee Chair). Additional committee members include Franklyn de Marco, Michael Dixon, Henry and Mary Virginia Fong, Emilio Guerra, Karen Mason, and Brownie McLean.

The Palm Beach community has worked to transform Gordon’s Village in Bluefields, Jamaica, since 2007 by establishing a self-sustainable fishing village in the community. The project, named in honor of Robert G. Gordon, replaced dilapidated shacks with more than 125 safe, permanent houses, constructed a school for 80 children, built a fish processing facility, and provided residents with access to water and sanitation.
“I encourage members of the Palm Beach community to attend Food For The Poor’s Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala at The Mar-a-Lago Club,” said Park. “The memorable evening with friends will remind us of our many blessings and inspire us to help the underprivileged in the Caribbean who are in desperate need of assistance.”
In addition to Food For The Poor’s international mission, the organization also supports nonprofits that serve South Florida’s neediest.

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala opens with a superb wine tasting reception of selected wines sponsored by Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. Unique wine selections, jewelry and exotic escapes to such places as Hong Kong are among the varied prizes in the silent and live auctions. The evening culminates with a 4-course gourmet dinner and wine pairing.
For additional information regarding the Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures event, tickets, sponsorship and benefactor levels, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/palmbeach.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. 

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Boca Grande Committee Keeps Its Promise - Friendship Village II is Now Home for Dozens of Families in Michaud, Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2012) – It’s difficult to believe, but it’s been almost three years since a powerful earthquake rattled Haiti. More than a million people were left homeless, and the country’s capital was quickly peppered with tent cites as far as the eye could see. But since that fateful day, the wheels of progress have been turning, and more than half of those in tents have been relocated out of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, a reported 400,000 remain in desperate need of permanent housing.

Thanks to the caring support of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee and Food For The Poor’s dedicated donors, funding for the Boca Grande Friendship Village II has been completed.  Forty families have been relocated from the tents in Port-au-Prince, to their very own homes in Michaud. To date, Boca Grande’s committee members have helped with the construction of 115 homes, several schools and community centers.
“After the earthquake in Haiti, my wife and I had the opportunity to see what these tent cities are like first-hand, and after that experience we knew we had to help,” said Ben Scott, chair of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee. “We met with the committee and decided that our second village would be designated for families living in the tents. We are very grateful for the opportunity to help these families to get a new start in life.”

Friendship Village II is a community of 40 two-room houses and each house is equipped with a sanitation unit and kitchenette.  Each family was given two solar-powered lanterns. Four solar-powered street lamps were also installed for added security. The village also has a community center, 200 fruit trees, 80 goats and a water filtration unit.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe how thankful we are for this new village in Michaud, Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Forty families with safe homes became 40 families who are given a hand up towards self-sustainability. Forty self-sustaining families will give hope to many others living in deplorable conditions, while inspiring many compassionate people here to help them in the same way.”

Scott feels it is important for donors to see for themselves how their donations are being used to change the lives of families in Haiti. There will be an inauguration of the Boca Grande Friendship Village II in Michaud, Haiti on January 14 -17, 2013. Committee members and anyone who has a desire to experience this joyous celebration are being invited to join Scott on the three-day trip with Food For The Poor.

Scott also will address the Boca Grande Committee at a reception on Feb. 21, 2013, at the historic Gasparilla Inn Beach Club, located at 445 Gilchrist Avenue in Boca Grande, Fla., where he will announce plans for Boca Grande Friendship Village III in Manneville, Haiti

Manneville is a small town near Thomazeau in the community of Croix-des-Bouquets, and is surrounded by two lakes: Etang Saumatre and Lac Azuei. It has an estimated population of 52,000.  People of Manneville mainly make a living from farming, although it is seasonal. The most common crops cultivated in this area are millet, sugar cane, and onions.  However, many do not have the proper farming tools or methods to establish a successful farm. There is a local market and a few small boutiques, but not enough to create employment opportunities for the masses.

Boca Grande Friendship Village III will have the following:
  • 35 two-room houses with sanitation. Each house will be built with a guttering system on the roof that will be connected to a water cistern, which will provide families with immediate access to rain water.
  • 2,000 trees will be planted around the community to reforest the land and also increase fruit bearing trees.
  • 100 goats will be distributed to residents in the community. The residents will be properly trained on how to care for the animals.
  • 50 residents will receive agricultural tools to help them become more productive farmers.
The Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee has been working through Food For The Poor to build homes since 2009.

The first community built by Boca Grande through Food For The Poor was the Friendship Village in Pierre Payen, in the Artibonite Region of the country.  In 2010, 40 double-unit homes equipped with kitchenettes, sanitation and 200-gallon plastic water cisterns to collect rain water were constructed.  In 2011, they completed a school there, added 22 double-unit homes, fruit trees, solar-powered street lights, and added more than 20 cows. In addition, 16 women were given the opportunity for small business ventures.

Committee members include: Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Brian Brightly, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Read Heydt, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, Ray and Iliene Corcoran, Charlie and Florita Field, Evelyn Finnegan, Lou and Corie Fusz, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, Colvin and Madelaine McCrady, and Peter and Elsa Soderberg.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America.

This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.