All-Nighter to empower students, unite campuses, fight hunger

Students nationwide are encouraged to host an event on their campus to commemorate World Food Day in partnership with the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor. Last year, colleges and universities throughout the United States made a commitment to make a positive, tangible difference in our world. In one night, for the second consecutive year, students raised money to build self-sustaining tilapia ponds in Haiti.

“The tilapia-farming project is not meant to alleviate poverty in the short-term, but rather to help this community rebuild in the long run by ceasing hunger and creating jobs for community residents,” said Isabelle Martinez, who graduated from The Honors College at Miami Dade College in April 2011.

Miami Dade College (MDC) was last year’s top fundraising team. The initiative to fight hunger and poverty spurred more than 600 MDC students to create an All-Nighter For The Poor outdoor party that included various types of dance, food from around the world, music, games, performances, art, poetry and more. MDC students and administrators are currently scheduling and planning another event for later this year.

“Our approach this year is to make giving back to the global community fun and exciting,” said Catherine Vega, a senior international relations major at Florida International University (FIU). “We hope to see more students than ever support this amazing cause. With the support of other student-leaders at FIU, we hope to raise awareness about the issues we are facing within our global community.”

The goal of the All-Nighter For The Poor program is to increase awareness about malnutrition and to fund self-sustaining solutions to poverty – such as tilapia ponds and animal husbandry projects – to alleviate hunger in developing countries. FIU’s third annual event is scheduled for Friday, November 18.

“It is with great honor that we take on this big responsibility,” said Zahra Arbabi Aski, a senior psychology major at FIU. “I am pleased to see that our Golden Panthers are standing together to support such an incredible cause and help build a brighter future for those in need. All-Nighter For The Poor has been a successful event at FIU for the past three years; however, we are hoping to take it to a higher level this year and leave a legacy for future FIU students to follow.”

Students at the University of Florida (UF) are also gearing up to participate in an All-Nighter For The Poor. Organizers for “Gators For The Poor” have created a Facebook page to help coordinate students and faculty.

“I’m so excited to make other UF students aware of Food For The Poor, an organization of which I just had the privilege of getting involved,” said Kayla Cochran, an English major from Deerfield Beach, Fla. “I pray this event strengthens unity within the campus and extends compassion to those outside.”

Are you ready to change the world? To register your school or join your school’s All-Nighter For The Poor team visit www.AllNighterForThePoor.org. This site also offers a downloadable “How To” guide, publicity materials, and ideas to help you create personalized donation pages and more. For more information, please call 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6988 or email info@allnighterforthepoor.org.

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