Outreach and Food For The Poor celebrate milestone meals

Since 2007, Outreach has donated 7.5 million meals, packaged by volunteers throughout the United States, to Food For The Poor. In the last year alone, Outreach has donated four containers of food, exceeding 1 million meals.

These meals of rice-vegetable casserole, fortified with soy protein and vitamins, have been distributed to countries through Food For The Poor’s network in Latin America and the Caribbean – principally Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

“Food For The Poor feeds more than 2 million people each day in the 17 countries we serve. We depend on organizations such as Outreach to help us supply the necessary food to feed the hungry,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “We are grateful to them, because without them, many more lives would be threatened by malnutrition and starvation.

Outreach Inc., a nonprofit based in Iowa, was created in 2004 when founders Floyd and Kathy Hammer returned from their second trip to Tanzania, Africa, on a construction mission. During their trips, they witnessed the death of many children from hunger and related diseases. They dreamed of a world free of poverty and limitations. Their response was to form Outreach.

Today, Outreach is delivering more than 100 million meals to the hungry in the United States, Haiti, Africa, and around the world.

Outreach arranges packaging events with faith and service organizations, schools, and civic groups. These food packaging events, held in church halls, school gymnasiums, and even stadiums, bring hundreds, sometimes thousands, of volunteers, each prepared to donate time and money to package meals. Five hundred volunteers can typically produce 50,000 meals. For more information on how to participate, go to www.outreachprogram.org.

“Our food packaging events are extraordinary spiritual events of giving and caring that draw congregations, communities and neighborhoods together,” said Floyd Hammer. “We are grateful that Food For The Poor has been able to take it from the packaging events to the countries where the food is most needed.”

Food For The Poor, the third-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 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:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Director of Public Relations
(954) 427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.org

Family celebrates ‘blessing of giving’

People who give say they feel happier and more fulfilled when they are able to share their blessings with others. Those sentiments were expressed by Kansas City businessman Joe Roetheli and his wife, Judy, who traveled to the remote Essequibo Coast in Guyana, to inaugurate the fourth self-sustaining village they have commissioned in partnership with Food For The Poor.

“We have been blessed in our lives to be able to bless you,” said Judy Roetheli to village residents during the dedication of Georgeville in Capoey. “It is a great blessing for us to be able to be part of the building of this village.”

This was Judy’s first trip to Guyana, and the village was named for her father, George O’Brien Hill. The Roetheli’s wanted to create a living legacy to honor his memory and philanthropic spirit.

“For four years, Joe and Judy Roetheli’s generosity and love of the poor has been evident through their actions and words of encouragement,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Together they are doing more to help the destitute than simply replacing deteriorating shacks – they are restoring the poor’s dignity, enabling them to dream again. Their joy of giving selflessly to those living in abject poverty has been shared with their children and grandchildren.”

The three previous villages also honor Roetheli family members. The third village, Princeville, was named in honor of the Roetheli’s oldest son, Steffan. His name means ‘prince.’ The second village, New Haven, was named in honor of Roetheli’s granddaughter, Haevyn. The first village, Lil’ Red, is for the Roetheli family name, which means Little Red.

“Judy and I hope to inspire, challenge and energize the residents of these villages,” said Joe Roetheli, the creator of “Greenies®,” a dog treat designed to clean teeth and freshen breath. “It is amazing what people can accomplish, when they want to accomplish it.”

Food For The Poor’s contribution to housing in Amerindian and other villages has been significant, with Georgeville being the sixth of its kind in Guyana. Representing the Amerindian community both nationally and at the U.N., Guyana’s Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the local Toshao chief attended the Georgeville ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ceremony included music from a steel drum band, and cultural performances and cuisine.

The self-sustaining village, complete with 50 two-bedroom homes and access to safe, clean drinking water and sanitation, was funded through The Roetheli Lil’Red Foundation. The community poultry project provides a future source of nutrition and income. To allow residents the opportunity to earn a supplemental income, income-generating projects are being implemented in all four villages.

“By adding the chicken coops and nursery school, to help with the educational component, we are changing not just this generation but generations to come for the village,” said Susan James, Guyana Project Manager For Food For The Poor.

Judy, a retired school teacher, shared a special connection with the children. The students welcomed the guests with outstretched arms and thoughtful recitals, created to demonstrate their skills. The village’s community center soon will be equipped with 12 computer sets to provide residents with hands-on skills training.

The Roetheli Lil’ Red Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire people to use their skills and talents for the betterment of themselves and others. The Foundation participates in a variety of inspirational projects including pet visitation programs in nursing homes with a focus in rural Missouri, encouraging entrepreneurial talents and skills and inspirational documentaries and books. To read about other inspiring Lil’ Red Foundation projects, and to make a donation that would help continue their work, visit www.lilredfoundation.org.

Food For The Poor, the third-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 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

Feeding hungry families, saving lives, one step at a time

Dust off those sneakers, if you haven’t already, and get ready to run, jog or walk in what has become one of Food For The Poor’s most popular events in its fight against hunger.

The 6th annual “5K Walk/Run For Hunger” fundraiser in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on Sept. 24, will kick-start events nationwide: Oct. 15 in Fort Mill, S.C., Nov. 12 in Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 19 in Miami, Fla., and April 7 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Every step will benefit malnourished children and their families – our neighbors, in the Caribbean and Latin America. Your support is needed to quell the hunger pains of children who have bloated bellies and orange hair caused by protein deficiency.

To help, register to participate and invite your friends and family to support your cause. Please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk to sign up, start a team or make a donation. Take advantage of the “Participant Center” to create a personalized fundraising page, share your goal with family, friends, coworkers and contacts, while you monitor your progress.

Pre-registration is at the discounted rate of $20 for adults, $15 for children ages 6-10, and there is no fee for children 5 years old and under. The registration cost for South Florida walkers includes a T-shirt and lunch. Special awards will be given to the individuals who raise the largest amount of donations. For more information, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk. You can also register the day of the event. Registration starts at 6 a.m., the run begins at 7 a.m. and the walk is at 9 a.m.

If you don’t live in a city where a walk is scheduled, you can still participate by registering online as a virtual walker. Do your part to feed starving children and their families, while raising awareness about Food For The Poor, one of the most efficient charities in the United States.

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

Thanks to 13 strangers, homes are being built in Honduras

Just three months after a group of 13 strangers from varied backgrounds traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with Food For The Poor, the group has generated enough donations to build a double-unit home.

The new home funded by the group will be built in the Santa Barbara region later this summer. The group wants to build three more double-unit homes and will need to raise $9,600 to make this dream a reality for three more families in desperate need of sturdy housing.

With many families in the mountain region of Santa Barbara living in makeshift dwellings, the construction of even one home can become a community event. The group experienced happiness after they completed Efigenia Ramirez’s 400-square-foot house in April. Ramirez’s neighbors gathered and clapped with joy when Food For The Poor presented her with the key to a new home for herself and her family of 11.

“When we take groups on a mission trip, it’s primarily for them to meet the people who are benefiting from their generous donations, for them to see for themselves how their gifts in kind and monetary contributions are being put to use,” said Food For The Poor’s Executive Director Angel Aloma. “The fact that the mission group on their first ever ‘Journey of Hope’ to Honduras committed themselves to building homes for the people they met there is truly wonderful.”

Food For The Poor began serving in Honduras in 1999, soon after Hurricane Mitch devastated the Central American country, and has built more than 3,000 homes to date, providing thousands of families with sturdy houses. The concrete block houses are built on a cement foundation and have porches, windows, bathrooms and are topped with a sturdy zinc roof.

Because of the Honduras House Matching Program, Food For The Poor is now able to construct a double-housing unit for each family selected to receive a home. This program was developed to address the critical housing shortage in Honduras. Funds are earmarked for a house matching project, meaning that for each single-unit home that Food For The Poor builds, another single-unit home will be built. Therefore, every $3,200.00 donated will result in the construction of one double-unit home, consisting of two bedrooms, one living room, and a bathroom.

To help with the project, please visit the mission group's Champions For The Poor page.

Chicago-area lawyer Susan O’Neal, who was one of the mission trip participants, recently was featured in an American Bar Association Journal photo.

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:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com