Samantha Kerker, a junior at Atlantic Community High School, has been recognized by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards as one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers for 2012, out of 26,000 applicants nationwide.
The 17th annual event took place in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, May 6, where Kerker received a $5,000 scholarship, an engraved gold medallion, a crystal trophy for her school, and a $5,000 grant from the Prudential Foundation, which she plans to donate to the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor.
“I still have tears pouring down my eyes from winning,” said Kerker. “I am so proud to be able to represent my school and my community on a national level. I am honored to win this award from Prudential.”
Kerker was bitten by the philanthropic bug at the age of 15. That’s when she chose to forgo her desire to buy a car when she turned 16 to fulfill the dream of homeownership for a destitute family she had never met. Investing money she earned since the sixth-grade in tie-dye materials and clothing, she enlisted the support of family and friends to sell her goods. In December 2010, Kerker and her mother Sindee traveled to Nicaragua with Food For The Poor to see her dream fulfilled. That’s where she got to meet the family who received the house she fundraised to build.
Inspired to do more, Kerker partnered with Food For The Poor and has spent the past two years spreading awareness about the severity of poverty in developing countries. She met with Florida State Representative Bill Hager and former Palm Beach County superintendent of schools, Bill Malone, to discuss the formation of Students For The Poor chapters in Palm Beach County high schools.
The Boca Raton resident was also named Florida’s top high school youth volunteer in 2012 for her initiative to start Students For The Poor chapters in Palm Beach County high schools. Students For The Poor is a unique student outreach effort initiated by students and developed by Food For The Poor. Chapters are based on high school and college campuses throughout the United States.
“All of us here are so very proud of Samantha,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “It’s so encouraging to see the gift of giving being planted into the hearts and minds of the young people who are participating in our Students For The Poor chapters. With their help, we can continue to work toward breaking the cycle of poverty.”
To support the building initiative of Palm Beach County’s Students For The Poor chapters, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/students.
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.
Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
Showing posts with label Sami Kerker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sami Kerker. Show all posts
Friday, May 18, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Palm Beach County students organize a benefit concert for Nicaragua
Embarking on a new way to involve South Florida’s youth in philanthropy, Atlantic Community High School junior Samantha Kerker collaborated with students and faculty members at six Palm Beach County high schools to present a benefit concert Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at Mizner Park Amphitheater, in Boca Raton. Proceeds from this evening of music will build a Food For The Poor school in Chinandega, Nicaragua.
“By all of the students coming together in these Students For The Poor chapters, it has given us the strength and power to really impact a plethora of students lives,” said Samantha. “This school in Nicaragua will benefit hundreds of students, and will allow them to have a proper education. With more students getting a proper education, the generations will become stronger and wiser, and will eventually overcome their developing country status.”
Performers to include The Kinected (Pop Music), Kasper featuring Syxx Ent (Hip Hop/Rap), Amanda (Pianist, singing Adele songs), and Siren (Rock Band). Participating Students For The Poor chapters include Atlantic Community High School, Suncoast Community High School, A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Palm Beach Central High School, Boca Raton Community High School, and West Boca Raton Community High School.
For additional information regarding benefit concert sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $20 per person, please contact Monique Shaw by calling 1-877-654-2960 ext. 6069 or by emailing moniques@foodforthepoor.com. Information about how you can start a Students For The Poor chapter at your school is also available by request.
Samantha’s idea to start Students For The Poor chapters in Palm Beach County was inspired by the questions her peers asked about her Food For The Poor mission trip to Nicaragua. She found the travel experience to a developing country to be so unlike her experiences in the United States.
“The poorest children in our neighborhoods would be considered the fortunate students compared to the children living in a developing country,” said Samantha, who tie-dyed her way to building her first Food For The Poor home for a destitute Nicaraguan family in December 2010. “Here in America, we have a government structure with many resources to aid the poor. In a developing country, there are little to no opportunities for the poor. The students participating in Students For The Poor clubs have come together to help those less fortunate students abroad.”
Students For The Poor is a unique student outreach effort initiated by students and developed by Food For The Poor. Students For The Poor is an organized outreach group on high school and college campuses throughout the United States in which students take time from their busy lives to serve the poor in their local communities, the Caribbean and Latin America.
To support the students’ building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/students. Donations can also be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 77575” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort.
Food For The Poor, 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/students.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
“By all of the students coming together in these Students For The Poor chapters, it has given us the strength and power to really impact a plethora of students lives,” said Samantha. “This school in Nicaragua will benefit hundreds of students, and will allow them to have a proper education. With more students getting a proper education, the generations will become stronger and wiser, and will eventually overcome their developing country status.” Performers to include The Kinected (Pop Music), Kasper featuring Syxx Ent (Hip Hop/Rap), Amanda (Pianist, singing Adele songs), and Siren (Rock Band). Participating Students For The Poor chapters include Atlantic Community High School, Suncoast Community High School, A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Palm Beach Central High School, Boca Raton Community High School, and West Boca Raton Community High School.
For additional information regarding benefit concert sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $20 per person, please contact Monique Shaw by calling 1-877-654-2960 ext. 6069 or by emailing moniques@foodforthepoor.com. Information about how you can start a Students For The Poor chapter at your school is also available by request.
Samantha’s idea to start Students For The Poor chapters in Palm Beach County was inspired by the questions her peers asked about her Food For The Poor mission trip to Nicaragua. She found the travel experience to a developing country to be so unlike her experiences in the United States.
“The poorest children in our neighborhoods would be considered the fortunate students compared to the children living in a developing country,” said Samantha, who tie-dyed her way to building her first Food For The Poor home for a destitute Nicaraguan family in December 2010. “Here in America, we have a government structure with many resources to aid the poor. In a developing country, there are little to no opportunities for the poor. The students participating in Students For The Poor clubs have come together to help those less fortunate students abroad.”
Students For The Poor is a unique student outreach effort initiated by students and developed by Food For The Poor. Students For The Poor is an organized outreach group on high school and college campuses throughout the United States in which students take time from their busy lives to serve the poor in their local communities, the Caribbean and Latin America.
To support the students’ building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/students. Donations can also be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 77575” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort.
Food For The Poor, 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/students.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Redesign Helps Food For The Poor Donors Become Champions
A redesign of Food For The Poor’s personal fundraising program encourages donors to create their own personalized web pages for causes close to their hearts. As Champions For The Poor, donors are able to share their passion for providing relief to the destitute by engaging their friends and families.
Two years ago, a South Florida fifth-grader utilized this technology to raise more than $162,000 to build a village in Haiti. As a result of her success she has been named one of Florida’s top two youth volunteers for 2011. For another donor, what started as a personal project requirement to graduate from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, led a teenager to tie-dye her way to building homes in Nicaragua. In addition to shelter, other supporters are raising awareness and money to install water wells, and build schools, clinics and soy product factories.
Some donors are inspired to raise funds in honor of one of life’s major milestones, or in memory of a cherished loved one. To provide donors with a sense of community, Food For The Poor has prearranged the champions personalized fundraising web pages into eight distinct categories; Birthdays and Anniversaries, Weddings and Graduations, Individual Causes, Group Causes, In Loving Memory, Faith-Based, Rebuild Haiti, and Party with a Purpose.
You can register to be a champion for the poor, and learn more about Food For The Poor’s personal fundraising program by visiting www.foodforthepoor.org/help/champions.
“Food For The Poor recognizes that all its donors are crucial to the charity’s mission of saving lives,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “The personalization of fundraising pages empowers donors to share their genuine enthusiasm and fundraising causes with friends and family members.”
The technology is user-friendly and Food For The Poor staff is available to help you throughout the process. For additional questions about Food For The Poor’s Champions For The Poor, please dial 954-427-2222, ext. 6064 to speak with William Casanova, or e-mail williamc@foodforthepoor.org for immediate assistance.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency 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.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Two years ago, a South Florida fifth-grader utilized this technology to raise more than $162,000 to build a village in Haiti. As a result of her success she has been named one of Florida’s top two youth volunteers for 2011. For another donor, what started as a personal project requirement to graduate from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, led a teenager to tie-dye her way to building homes in Nicaragua. In addition to shelter, other supporters are raising awareness and money to install water wells, and build schools, clinics and soy product factories.Some donors are inspired to raise funds in honor of one of life’s major milestones, or in memory of a cherished loved one. To provide donors with a sense of community, Food For The Poor has prearranged the champions personalized fundraising web pages into eight distinct categories; Birthdays and Anniversaries, Weddings and Graduations, Individual Causes, Group Causes, In Loving Memory, Faith-Based, Rebuild Haiti, and Party with a Purpose.
You can register to be a champion for the poor, and learn more about Food For The Poor’s personal fundraising program by visiting www.foodforthepoor.org/help/champions.
“Food For The Poor recognizes that all its donors are crucial to the charity’s mission of saving lives,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “The personalization of fundraising pages empowers donors to share their genuine enthusiasm and fundraising causes with friends and family members.”
The technology is user-friendly and Food For The Poor staff is available to help you throughout the process. For additional questions about Food For The Poor’s Champions For The Poor, please dial 954-427-2222, ext. 6064 to speak with William Casanova, or e-mail williamc@foodforthepoor.org for immediate assistance.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency 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.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Teen Tie-Dyes Her Way to Nicaraguan Home
Sami Kerker, 15, chose to forgo her desire to purchase a car at 16 to fulfill the dream of homeownership for a destitute family she had never met. Investing money she had earned since the sixth-grade in tie-dye materials and clothing, Sami enlisted the support of friends and family nationwide. Sami’s goal is to raise money to build a safe, sturdy Food For The Poor house for a Nicaraguan family and to travel to see her dream realized.
“I was inspired by the Lynn University students and faculty who went to Haiti last year to try to make a difference in this poverty-stricken country,” said Sami. “To honor their work, I wanted to follow in their footsteps. That is how I decided to volunteer with Food For The Poor. ”
Motivated by her economics professor, Sami, a sophomore at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach, aspires to graduate from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program with the IB Diploma. To fulfill the required personal project, Sami created a business, Tie Dye Unique – designing and constructing the Web site to sell her merchandise. From the beginning, Sami has selflessly donated 100 percent of the profit to charity, and has already raised 75 percent of the necessary funds.
“Everybody loves tie-dye, and wants to do something to help,” said Sami. “Everyone in my Pilates class has purchased tie-dyed socks to wear to class. I am thankful for all the support I have received.”
First exposed to the tie-dying process in an eighth-grade chemistry project, Sami has mixed pounds of brightly colored dyes and wrapped hundreds of rubber bands, to create unique color combinations and patterns. Family members and friends flew to Florida – some from as faraway as Los Angeles – to help the Boca Raton teen tie-dye her way to Nicaragua.
With the dinning room table and kitchen countertops covered in newspaper and tarps, the team spent a week repeating the lengthy tie-die process approximately 474 times. With the exception of volleyball practice that week from 3 to 6 p.m., Sami perfected the spiral, random, circle, and striped tie-dye methods.
“My husband and son thought we were absolutely nuts,” said Sindee Kerker, Sami’s mother and professor of Criminal Justice at Lynn University. “Originally, we had planned to tie-dye in the garage, but it was too hot in August to work there.”
After months of selling tie-dye shirts, sweatpants and socks, the mother-daughter team will travel to Nicaragua in December to paint the house Sami is raising funds to build.
“For $3,100, I could make a difference that could last a lifetime for a special family,” said Sami, who confessed the journey will take her outside of her comfort zone. “I am hoping to sell all of my tie-dying projects by the end of the year so I can use my profits to fund a house in Nicaragua.”
To make a donation toward Sami’s initiative or to purchase your own uniquely tie-dyed merchandise, please visit her Web site.
A donation of $2,600 can provide a one-room home to a destitute family. For $1,000, a latrine and shower stall will provide housing recipients with access to proper sanitation and privacy. Proper sanitation is essential to the health and welfare of a thriving family and helps prevent life-threatening illnesses.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency 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.
“I was inspired by the Lynn University students and faculty who went to Haiti last year to try to make a difference in this poverty-stricken country,” said Sami. “To honor their work, I wanted to follow in their footsteps. That is how I decided to volunteer with Food For The Poor. ”Motivated by her economics professor, Sami, a sophomore at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach, aspires to graduate from the International Baccalaureate (IB) program with the IB Diploma. To fulfill the required personal project, Sami created a business, Tie Dye Unique – designing and constructing the Web site to sell her merchandise. From the beginning, Sami has selflessly donated 100 percent of the profit to charity, and has already raised 75 percent of the necessary funds.
“Everybody loves tie-dye, and wants to do something to help,” said Sami. “Everyone in my Pilates class has purchased tie-dyed socks to wear to class. I am thankful for all the support I have received.”
First exposed to the tie-dying process in an eighth-grade chemistry project, Sami has mixed pounds of brightly colored dyes and wrapped hundreds of rubber bands, to create unique color combinations and patterns. Family members and friends flew to Florida – some from as faraway as Los Angeles – to help the Boca Raton teen tie-dye her way to Nicaragua.
With the dinning room table and kitchen countertops covered in newspaper and tarps, the team spent a week repeating the lengthy tie-die process approximately 474 times. With the exception of volleyball practice that week from 3 to 6 p.m., Sami perfected the spiral, random, circle, and striped tie-dye methods.
“My husband and son thought we were absolutely nuts,” said Sindee Kerker, Sami’s mother and professor of Criminal Justice at Lynn University. “Originally, we had planned to tie-dye in the garage, but it was too hot in August to work there.”
After months of selling tie-dye shirts, sweatpants and socks, the mother-daughter team will travel to Nicaragua in December to paint the house Sami is raising funds to build.
“For $3,100, I could make a difference that could last a lifetime for a special family,” said Sami, who confessed the journey will take her outside of her comfort zone. “I am hoping to sell all of my tie-dying projects by the end of the year so I can use my profits to fund a house in Nicaragua.”
To make a donation toward Sami’s initiative or to purchase your own uniquely tie-dyed merchandise, please visit her Web site.
A donation of $2,600 can provide a one-room home to a destitute family. For $1,000, a latrine and shower stall will provide housing recipients with access to proper sanitation and privacy. Proper sanitation is essential to the health and welfare of a thriving family and helps prevent life-threatening illnesses.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)