Charity Presents Powerful Stories of Children Who Struggle to Survive in Developing Countries

For the first time ever in long-form programming, Food For The Poor will share with viewers in the United States the desperate plight of children who suffer horrific living conditions in developing countries. The personal stories of children in Haiti and Guatemala show the harsh realities of extreme destitution, while simultaneously providing viewers the opportunity to be a true blessing to the poor and hungry, by becoming an Angel Of The Poor.

Every day, millions of children are forced to go hungry, thousands suffer from severe malnourishment, and their parents are helpless to save them. When children cry out in pain, it breaks the parents’ hearts because they do not have food, clean drinking water, and medicines to give their children – in some cases, to save their lives.

“Food For The Poor donors have been saving lives for 29 years in the Caribbean and Latin America,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “Our donors have empowered us to be the premier providers of aid in Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana and almost all countries of Central America. This aid takes the form of life-saving food, water, permanent housing, education, medicine, micro-enterprise and self-sustainability projects – all this while maintaining an administrative cost ratio of less than 4 percent.”

During the program, spokesperson Cheryl Ladd, who starred in “Charlie’s Angels,” asks viewers to consider giving monthly to the nonprofit Food For The Poor.

The charity partners with suppliers to stretch the purchasing power of your monetary donations, so lifesaving resources can reach even more precious children.

“Despite our efficient, effective and impactful work funded by a solid number of generous and loyal donors, we still remain strangers to a large part of this country’s population,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “I am confident that this exciting initiative in the medium of television will introduce our work to a larger audience and gain us a plethora of new friends with a heart for serving those who live in extreme poverty.”

Based on viewers’ unique life experiences, everyone will be moved differently by the personal stories. Some will identify with the young mother who is unable to provide for the two children God gave her – who escapes from her painful reality of parasites and her children’s cries of hunger by praying to God. Others will identify more with the siblings’ struggles to provide food and as little as $1 - $2 by scouring dangerous garbage dumps in Guatemala for materials to be recycled, repurposed or eaten.

Through their suffering they pray for refuge in God’s love and comfort.

The program includes donor testimonials to inspire and remind viewers that every gift, regardless of size and value will help Food For The Poor provide food, medicine, shelter and access to safe drinking water to the poorest of the poor.

Learn how you can become an Angel Of The Poor.

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.

Support Food For The Poor with every credit card swipe you make!

Good news! Food For The Poor is now supported by SwipeGood, a service that allows you to automatically round up all your credit or debit card transactions to the nearest dollar, donating your spare change to help the poorest of the poor.

When you're a starving child, spare change goes a long way. Eighteen dollars, the average monthly donation of a SwipeGood user, is enough to feed a child for 6 months. With SwipeGood you change lives every time you shop!

Please sign up today, it only takes a few minutes:

1. Go to Food For The Poor's SwipeGood profile.
2. Create an account or log-in with your Facebook account
3. Select the card you would like to have purchases rounded up on
4. Set a monthly donation limit if you want

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.

N.J. Teen Shares Passion For Baseball With D.R.

New Jersey State Baseball Champion Chris Lowery has organized baseball and softball equipment collections in his hometown of Randolph, N.J., for disadvantaged children in the Dominican Republic. Knowing the D.R.’s national pastime is baseball, Lowery is passionate about helping the country’s youth sharpen their skills by donating new equipment, and giving them the opportunity to meet some of the world’s best homegrown talent.

Lowery traveled to the D.R. in December with his father to distribute more than 2,000 mitts, bats, balls, helmets, catcher’s gear, cleats and uniforms to orphans and local baseball leagues with the assistance of Food For The Poor and Brother’s Brother Foundation. Approximately 500 baseball jerseys donated by the Florida-based Rotary Club of Perrine-Cutler Ridge-Palmetto Bay also were distributed.

Florida Marlins’ center fielder Emilio Bonifacio participated in the distribution of baseball supplies in his hometown of Santo Domingo.

“It was very important for me to be there because when I was their age, it was hard for me to find equipment,” said Bonifacio, between receiving high-fives and taking photos with the young players. “I grew up close by and hope the next great player comes from here.”

As the special guests handed out the equipment to the young players, Bonifacio advised them, “Take advantage of this because the whole world does not have this opportunity.”

Lowery comes from a town where baseball is a big deal, so it was no surprise at his final at bat in Santo Domingo he hit the ball out of the park. As he ran around the bases, his teammates were giving him high-fives, rooting for him as he rounded third and headed home.

“The whole team was lining up getting ready to cheer me on,” said Lowery. “It was a tremendous feeling to see baseball is universal – baseball is baseball and everybody loves the sport. It was just awesome. I feel like one of them.”

Sometimes in developing countries local teams have to share bats, and only have enough baseball gloves to field one team. As the players hustle to leave the field, they toss their mitts to the opponents.

This was the second time Lowery, a senior at Randolph High School in N.J., has distributed baseball equipment in the D.R. The initiative started in response to a challenge to help others posed by his father.

“This challenge set into motion a series of events that would have a significant impact on me and thousands of underprivileged boys and girls in the Dominican Republic, and create a foundation for giving for years to come,” said Lowery. “As I began to pass out the mitts, cleats, baseball pants, bats, and helmets, the children’s broad grins, dancing eyes and genuine appreciation forever changed me. Instead of feeling satisfied with our accomplishment, the experience created a burning passion within me to do more – much more.”

“This whole experience reminds us of what Food For The Poor is really all about, bringing love and hope to others,” said Rachmani Domersant, Vice President of International Operations at Food For The Poor.

A video of Lowery and Bonifacio distributing the gear is available on YouTube.

To donate toward Food For The Poor funded projects in the Dominican Republic, please visit Food For The Poor's Web site.

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.

“Together: We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe”

Food For The Poor will have a meditative, candlelit service at Food For The Poor’s office on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. The service will include scripture readings, moments of quiet reflection, songs, and prayers all in remembrance of the approximately 3 million Haitians and international travelers whose lives forever changed on Jan. 12. Together we will celebrate the persistence and faith of the Haitian people, the courage and strength of the rescuers, and the brotherhood of their supporters.

Twelve candles will be lighted during the Taizé prayer service, to commemorate the day when the devastating earthquake hit. During the service, The Reverend Sara McKinley, Senior Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Coral Springs and Karla Dejean, Director of Diversity at Pine Crest Preparatory School in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, will read scriptures. The Right Reverend Leopold Frade, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida and a member of Food For The Poor’s Board of Directors, will close the service with a blessing of peace.

At 4:53 p.m., immediately after the eighth candle is lighted, bells will ring. The Haitian-born vocalists in the group Supremacy will then sing the Haitian national anthem. A one-year anniversary video will be shown to document Food For The Poor’s rebuilding efforts, response to the deadly cholera outbreak, and the hope that remains alive in Haiti.

Food For The Poor has been working in Haiti since 1986. This allowed the organization to respond immediately when the earthquake devastated the country. As of December 31, 2010, Food For The Poor sent 1,459 tractor-trailer loads of food, water, medicines and other lifesaving relief aid valued at more than $205 million to Haiti. These shipping containers also included water-filtration systems, building supplies, tools and hygiene kits. Food For The Poor has honored its commitment to donors by spending all Haiti emergency earthquake relief funds by the end of October 2010.

With more than a million people living in tent cities, Food For The Poor’s biggest project is building homes. More than 14,000 homes have been constructed by the charity in Haiti – 1,589 of those since the Jan. 12 earthquake. The charity has the capacity to build 350 two-room homes a month, and is limited only by funding. Food For The Poor publishes regular updates of its work in Haiti on www.foodforthepoor.org.

Watch Food For The Poor’s Haiti Earthquake Anniversary 2011 video.

A summary of Food For The Poor's work in post-earthquake Haiti is also available.

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. We provide 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.

To learn more, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

Through Dec. 31, gifts for feeding Haiti’s children are being doubled

Can you imagine having to tell your children that "today is not your turn to eat?"

While visiting earthquake-devastated Haiti earlier this year, Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma witnessed one child eating a handful of rice while his older brother merely watched. "Today is not my turn to eat," the boy told Aloma.

Haiti is home to entire families that have not eaten for days. With these families in mind, please send us your greatest gift possible. Gifts made by Friday, December 31, are tax-deductible and will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $250,000. Time is running out to save lives.

Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/yearendfoodgift to give these children a gift -- the gift of food.

Palm Beach Philanthropists Support Food For The Poor’s Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala

Food For The Poor’s eighth annual Palm Beach gala, Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures will be held Sunday, January 30, 2011, at The Breakers, Palm Beach. The annual event is chaired by distinguished Palm Beach philanthropists Robert G. and Arlette Gordon (Grand Honorary Chairpersons), Elizabeth Bowden (Gala Chairwoman), and Paul Marino (Event Chairman).

With a passion for both culinary achievement and charitable giving, Grand Honorary Chairpersons Robert and Arlette Gordon and Gala Chairwoman Elizabeth Bowden, invite you to become involved in this philanthropic cause and transform lives of poverty and suffering into ones filled with hope and thanksgiving. Proceeds will be used to build desperately needed homes for destitute families in developing countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

Food For The Poor’s gala will begin with a superb wine tasting reception with selected wines compliments of Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., and Republic National Distributing Company. Throughout the reception, unique wine selections, jewelry and exotic escapes are among the varied silent and live auction prizes. Specially selected fine wines will be chosen to enhance each course and to highlight the executive chefs and restaurants of The Breakers. Additionally, Broadway-inspired performances by La Mystique are certain to enthrall guests.

Patrick Park and Nathalie Fernandez have graciously committed to be the charity’s platinum benefactors. Silver benefactors include Elizabeth Bowden, Florence DeGeorge, Robert and Arlette Gordon, and Howard and Michele Kessler. Gala benefactors include Helen Bernstein, Stanley and Helene Karp, Henry Fong and Mary Virginia Knight, Anneliese Langner, Hermé de Wyman Miro – The International Society of Palm Beach, and Ari Rifkin.

Ray Mou, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami (Taiwan), has been named the gala’s Grand Benefactor. Joint initiatives between Taiwan ICDF and Food For The Poor include feeding the destitute, and the in-country production of food through agriculture, farm-raised fish and livestock breeding – self-sustainable initiatives that teach people how to earn a living.

Gala sponsors to include American Nicaraguan Foundation, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., Russ Reid Company, Republic National Distributing Company, and TerraGroup.

Master of ceremonies for Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures is CBS WPEC Channel 12’s weeknight anchor Curt Fonger. Fonger is an avid philanthropist, who has supported Food For The Poor’s mission for many years. Immediately following the Jan. 12 earthquake Fonger reached out to Food For The Poor to ask how he and the Palm Beach community could help the people of Haiti.

For additional information regarding the Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures event, benefactor levels, and tickets, available at $450 per person, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.foodforthepoor.org/palmbeach.

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. We provide 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.

One of Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things Transforms Tragedy into Hope

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most recognized women in the world, and after 25 years the “Queen of Talk” has said good-bye to daytime TV with her Ultimate Farewell Season. Famous for her generosity, Oprah’s Favorite Things has been a hit for more than a decade, so to land a seat in the studio audience for the final season was the ultimate experience for any Oprah fan.

Shawn Long of Atlanta, Ga. was one of the fortunate few to be a guest on Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things show, which aired on Nov.19. Saving the best for the farewell season, Oprah’s audience members were showered with fragrances, gadgets, unique and expensive gifts.

“It was one of the most exciting times in my life,” said Long. “Everyone there was so nice; it was 24 hours of happiness for me, something I really, really needed.”

Long’s journey to The Oprah Winfrey Show began on a dark and painful road. Long has three daughters – her oldest, 24-year-old Tiffany Hulsey, was a victim of domestic violence. Long said Tiffany’s young life ended on May 11 when her boyfriend killed her, then took his own life, the tragedy playing out in front of Hulsey’s two daughters, 5 and 1. Now, Long and her husband Kelly are raising their two grandchildren.

Months after the tragedy, Long’s sister wanted to do something to lift her sister’s spirits so she shared Long’s story with The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was selected, for what she thought was a segment about people who had given back to help others. After Long and her sister Sherrie Reimherr flew to Chicago for a taping on Nov. 16, they learned it was really for Oprah’s Ultimate Favorite Things. After 24 hours of pampering, the two returned to Georgia with a number of gifts, including a Philip Stein watch, framed in diamonds and worth thousands of dollars.

One morning, while listening to “The Fish” WFSH 104.7 radio morning show, Long heard the on-air host talk about the need in Haiti, and the homebuilding work Food For The Poor is doing there. Moved with compassion, Long said she had to help, but with funds tight, she remembered the watch, called the radio station and donated it to the charity.

“We had a very rough year, and it has been hard on all of us, but in the end we have a home, we have food, and we have each other. God has blessed us, and we wanted to do something to bless someone who doesn’t have anything. I sincerely wish I could do more,” Long said.

Long went on to say she’s grateful to Oprah for giving her the beautiful time piece, but once she realized she could help a suffering family have a home, parting with the gift was easy.

So how will this watch be transformed into a shelter and hope for the future? Food For The Poor will auction the Philip Stein at its annual “Fine Wine and Hidden Treasures Gala” at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. on Jan. 30, 2011. Money from the auctioned watch will build a new two-room concrete block house with sanitation, and so much more for a family in Haiti.

“We are blessed and moved by this beautiful and selfless gift Mrs. Long has donated to Food For The Poor to further our efforts to help the suffering in the world,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “We are humbled that during this time of the year when the pain of the loss of her daughter is probably at its greatest, she has room in her heart to remember the less fortunate.”

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.