Food For The Poor thanks RENU for helping to renew hope

A South Florida cosmetic enhancement center, RENU Medical Aesthetics, has donated a percentage of its sales to help the poor through the international relief agency Food For The Poor. The donation will be used to serve the poor wherever the need is greatest within the 17 countries receiving aid from the agency.

“As Food For The Poor celebrates 30 years of saving and transforming lives throughout the Caribbean and  Latin America, we have set the goal in 2012 to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help the destitute,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “It is donations such as one we received from RENU Medical Aesthetics that are making this optimistic challenge in 2012 possible, and we are truly grateful for their generosity.”  

Based in Stuart, RENU’s generosity doesn’t end there. The Medical Aesthetics associates have once again decided to pledge a percentage of its sales. This time they want to raise enough funds to build a two-room home for a family in Haiti through Food For The Poor.

To help RENU Medical Aesthetics meet their goal in 2012, click www.FoodForThePoor.org/renu to make a safe and secure online donation.

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

All-Nighter empowers students, fights hunger

Students nationwide are encouraged to host an All-Nighter event on their campus to commemorate World Food Day in partnership with the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor.

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. World Food Day is October 16 and events are usually held during the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November.

Interested student organizations at their corresponding college/university are given the opportunity to vote on the country and project that will be supported by the All-Nighter each year. It is a great opportunity for campuses and its student organizations to demonstrate their philanthropic spirit, be creative and have fun university wide for a good cause.

Funds from past events have gone to life-saving projects, such as:
•    All-Nighter I (2009):   Funded the Harvesting Hope For Haiti Tilapia Farm in Delogner, Haiti. It is a four-pond tilapia farm, with each pond accommodating up to 7,000 fish.
•    All-Nighter II (2010):  Funded the Renewing Hope Tilapia Farm in Fond Des Blanc, Haiti. This four-pond tilapia farm has a submersible pump powered by solar panels.
•    All-Nighter II (2010):  Funded the Renewing Hope II Tilapia Farm in Cuperlier, Petite Goave, Haiti.
•    All-Nighter III (2011): Will fund a pangasius farm in Haiti.

“The farm in Delogner alone can provide about 1,800 pounds of fish every four months,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “This is vital protein in a country that so desperately needs nutritious food. In addition, the farm provides work for villagers who cultivate and harvest the tilapia, and then use the fish to barter for necessary goods.”

To watch a video about the project, go to http://www.youtube.com/delogner. The project for 2012 will be determined in July. Are you ready to change the world? To learn more, visit www.AllNighterForThePoor.org. For more information, please call 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6069 or email moniques@foodforthepoor.com.

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.  

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

Students For The Poor: Form a chapter and help the suffering

The high school and college years are when young people start to take notice of the world stage around them, and discover that they too have a role to play in the drama of life. It is during this phase, when clubs, groups and organizations take on new meaning, and when the needs of the poor are no longer viewed as someone else’s problem.

Recognizing that desire four years ago, Food For The Poor helped to develop Students For The Poor, a student outreach effort initiated by students, with chapters on high school and college campuses throughout the United States.

“The goal of each Students For The Poor Chapter is to provide life-changing experiences for the students, while raising awareness and providing support for the materially poor, one person, one family, one community at a time,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “These chapters are a real blessing because young people are learning firsthand the true meaning of helping their neighbor, which is a lesson they will carry with them for a lifetime.”

In 2007, Lynn University chaplain, Fr. Marty Devereaux, went on a Food For The Poor mission trip to Haiti. He was so moved by his experience that upon his return to the Boca Raton, Fla. campus, he asked the Student Government to invite Food For The Poor to give a presentation. In 2008, the Lynn University Students For The Poor Chapter was initiated and soon chapters formed on campuses nationwide.

Once the Students For The Poor Chapter has selected a project goal and raised funds for that project, active members of that chapter are eligible to take part in Students For The Poor mission trips, which include the following countries: Jamaica, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

To formalize a chapter on your campus please contact Food For The Poor’s Campus Outreach Coordinator at 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6069, or moniques@foodforthepoor.com.  The greatest advantage to becoming an official Students For The Poor Chapter is that you have the support, encouragement and resources of the largest international relief and development organization in the United States at your disposal.

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.            

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

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

Local teen is one of America’s top 10 youth volunteers of the year

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

Local parish makes dozens of dresses, a gift to little girls in Haiti

 Bake sales, raffle tickets and car washes have become synonymous with church groups raising funds for various projects to help those in need. The Council of Catholic Women from St. Paul the Apostle Church in Lighthouse Point, Fla., decided to take a different approach, and chose to make brightly colored dresses for little girls. They made their needs known, picked up a needle and thread and got to sewing.

“We wanted this to be a parish function, not just a women’s club function,” said Cathie Desjean, President of the Council of Catholic Women at St. Paul the Apostle Church. “We asked our parish to help, and they did. They donated all the pillowcases we needed and we used them for making the dresses.” 

Using a basic dress pattern and whole lot of creativity, a group of women volunteers turned new and used pillowcases that had been washed and pressed into adorable little sundresses with little bloomers to match.  After six months of sewing, a total of 184 dresses were then donated to Food For The Poor and will be distributed to little girls in Titayen, Haiti.

Titayen, located just north of Port-au-Prince, is where hundreds left homeless by the 2010 earthquake have pitched their tents. Food For The Poor is in the process of building a village in Titayen, which will consist of two-room concrete houses, a water filtration unit that will benefit the entire community, and a school building with the capacity to accommodate 300 students. The school will include administrative and meeting rooms, a kitchen and a 10-unit sanitation block.

“In a place where the need is so great, it’s easy to forget that it is often the small acts of kindness that make the biggest impact,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor.  “We are very grateful to receive these little dresses because this gift means more than covering for these little girls –
it means they are not forgotten.”

“Each and every stitch made in these little dresses was made with love,” said DeeDee Coulombe, Vice President of the Council of Catholic Women at St. Paul the Apostle Church. “And we’re so happy that they are going to go to children who can really use them,”

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.

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

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

A gift of two schools A priceless legacy of learning for dozens of Jamaica’s children

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 9, 2012) – A mission trip to Jamaica with Food For The Poor ignited a spark in the heart of one young woman whose compassionate enthusiasm is making a positive impact in the lives of dozens of young children today.

“I believe helping the children is where everything starts,” said Rebecca Block. “As long as they have safe schools to learn and to thrive in, that is all that matters. It gives me joy, it gives me hope, and it makes me excited for the future of these kids.”

It all started when Block and a group of student volunteers from Lynn University traveled to the island nation in January 2010 with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor. On that trip, Block said she saw many things, but when the group was told that schools were being closed due to improper classrooms and facilities, and children had nowhere to learn, she knew she had to help.

“I told my parents about my emotional trip and this need to do something positive about it. I brought up the idea of a school because of what I had heard, and my family agreed,” said Block.

With the support of the Hahn-Block Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Westlake Village, Calif., founded by Block’s parents nearly 15 years ago, the Morris Hall Basic School in St. Catherine, Jamaica, was built through Food For The Poor in 2010. Fast-forward two years, and Block’s determination has resulted in funding for a second school. The United Basic School, located in Pepper District, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, also will be built through Food For The Poor.

“Education is so very important because it provides people with an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, but these much needed skills must be introduced to the minds of Jamaica’s children while they are very young,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “It’s unfortunate, but many school buildings in Jamaica need to be torn down and reconstructed, so Rebecca’s desire to get these basic schools built not only will help children now, but hundreds of children for years to come will benefit from her effort. She’s truly an amazing young woman.”

The future looks bright for 23-year-old Block, who will be graduating on Saturday from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations. She says she’s then heading out to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for a degree in Visual Communications. Block says wherever she goes she will always remember Jamaica, and that the experience there has changed her life for the better.

Food For The Poor has constructed 41 basic schools in Jamaica since 2004, and has replaced 50 pit latrines with flush toilet systems in schools across the island.

To mark Jamaica’s golden anniversary on Aug. 6, 2012, Food For The Poor is launching the “Jamaica 50 Campaign” to build 50 schools in 50 months. The initiative will work like this:

• In August of 2012, the first school will open, and then a new school will open each month for the next 50 months.
 • Food For The Poor will replace a school that has been targeted by a community that’s been deemed as an unfit space for children to learn.

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

Doral Overseas Chinese Business Chamber pledges donations from gala to help rebuild Haiti

For the second year in a row, the Doral Overseas Chinese Business Chamber has chosen Food For The Poor as the recipient of silent auction proceeds at its Imperial Banquet at the Intercontinental Hotel at Doral on May 20.

FFP CEO Robin Mahfood and international visitors.

The invitation-only gala is in celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in May. The chamber has invited the award-winning Taiwanese Chef Liu, who has represented the nation at several cooking demonstrations in Europe, to present an eight-course dinner based on the unique cuisine of Taiwan.

“In good times, we always remember those less fortunate than us,” said Pedro Cheng, Vice President of the Doral Overseas Chinese Business Chamber. Food For The Poor is celebrating its 30th year of service to the truly destitute.

In recognizing Food For The Poor’s President/CEO Robin Mahfood at last year’s event, Cheng said, “Mr. Robin, you are my hero. You defend the weak and the poor. You give them food when they are hungry, you give them drink when they are thirsty and you clothe them when they are naked; and you visit them when they are sick.”

Food For The Poor and the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) have partnered since 2005 to collaborate on joint initiatives in six countries, including Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and El Salvador. These projects include 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. The two organizations also have partnered to provide computers to children, enhancing their education.

“At Food For The Poor we believe that every human being deserves the simple dignity of having sufficient food, clean water, adequate shelter, an education, medical attention and the opportunity to become self-sufficient,” Mahfood said. “We will be forever grateful for the help the people of Taiwan offered the poor with their gifts of rice during some of the very worst times, including after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti.”

The money donated from last year’s dinner was used to support Food For The Poor projects in Haiti. For more information about the event, email doralcbc@gmail.com.

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.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com

Honor Mom, restore other women’s power to dream

In developing countries, mothers often are the sole providers for their families and earn less than $2 a day. If there is no work, they sometimes are forced to scavenge local garbage dumps alongside their children for food or anything recyclable. Food, clean water, shelter, medical care and education are all out of reach for these destitute women.

Elva Brady, left, a Food For The Poor donor

“My heart goes out to mothers who raise children as a single parent,” said Elva Brady, a Food For The Poor donor who is committed to funding development projects for women. “My mother was one of these women.”

This Mother’s Day, caring donors can celebrate the lives of their mothers and improve the lives of others in developing countries. Gifts that provide hope for the future can be found at foodforthepoor.org/catalog.

“Food For The Poor has given me an avenue to honor my mother by helping women in Guatemala,” said Brady. “These women can find their value and empowerment through education in the women development centers and by organizing the chicken farms. My hope is to at least help one mother remove herself from a life scavenging through local garbage dumps, to an improved life with hope for a brighter future for herself and her children.”

Brady has traveled to Guatemala with Food For The Poor representatives and met many Food For The Poor beneficiaries, including Aurelia Pac. 

“When I saw the water for the first time, I was crying tears of joy… it is a miracle,” said Pac, a mother and beneficiary of a Food For The Poor water project in Guatemala. This gift of clean, safe drinking water means Pac and other women and children in the village no longer have to trek for miles to fetch water for their family’s daily needs. Pac now earns a living washing clothes for others.

Food For The Poor development projects for women include vocational training courses in baking and sewing, group aquaculture and animal husbandry projects, access to clean water and permanent housing, and shelter and food for expecting mothers.

“Every day, millions of children are forced to go hungry, thousands suffer from severe malnourishment, and their mothers are helpless to save them,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “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.”

Even though Mother’s Day is only once a year, you can motivate the women at your next luncheon, retreat or monthly meeting to take action by inviting a Food For The Poor speaker. For additional information about Food For The Poor’s development projects for women, please contact Paul Kane by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6641 or by emailing PaulK@foodforthepoor.com.

All gifts are tax-deductible. To support Food For The Poor’s development projects for women, checks payable to Food For The Poor can be mailed to 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please include reference number “SC# 82722” to ensure your donation is accurately routed.

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.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Food For The Poor was honored as Business of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal on Thursday night. The international relief and development organization was named in the nonprofit category.

The Business Journal awards recognize excellence and outstanding performance in the South Florida business community. Scores of nominees were reviewed by the panel of judges, which included the newspaper’s editorial department, representatives from business schools in the region, past honorees and prominent business leaders.

In announcing the award, the South Florida Business Journal wrote, “Food For The Poor provided the poor with long-term, sustainable solutions to poverty, in part through several micro-enterprise programs that help the poor help themselves.”

Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma accepted the award for the charity.

“Tonight, we accept this award on behalf of the little boy who, watching his brother eat a bowl of rice, said, ‘Today is not my day to eat,’ ” Aloma said. “We accept it on behalf of the mother of four in Guatemala who spends her days with her children in a dump looking for small items to sell or even to eat. Food For The Poor accepts this award on behalf of the man who has labored in the garbage dump for 42 years, and confesses to us that he has lost even the power to dream. Thank you for helping us save their lives, and to restore their dreams.”

As the agency celebrates its 30th anniversary, Food For The Poor has set a goal in 2012 to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help those suffering within the 17 countries it serves.

“We give the poor tools to be able to take care of themselves, People don’t want aid; they want to be able to earn a living,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “We had no idea how far the ministry would take us. All these years later, we still look at our mission the same way: We save lives one person, one family at a time.”

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.


Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
       

Food For The Poor: 30 years of aid, efficiency and hope

Named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the nation’s largest international relief and development agency, Food For The Poor was  able to offer aid to millions of people last year, as a result of support from its dedicated donors.  For three decades, Food For The Poor has given hope to the hungry, the destitute, and the abandoned throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

As the agency celebrates its 30th anniversary, Food For The Poor has set a goal in 2012 to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help those suffering within the 17 countries it serves.

According to Food For The Poor’s 2011 Annual Report:

• Operating expenses were under 4 percent – ensuring that more than 96 percent of donations go directly toward programs that help the poor.

•  More than 24.9 million pounds of rice, 7.7 million pounds of beans, 10.3 million pounds of canned foods, and other life-sustaining foods were delivered to the hungry.

• The charity built 6,294 housing units – bringing the total to more than 77,417 since 1982. In Haiti alone, Food For The Poor built 2,184 permanent two-room homes with sanitation units.

• 588 trailers of medicines and medical supplies and 310 trailers of educational supplies were shipped.

• 56 fishing village initiatives, tilapia ponds, fruit tree planting projects, animal husbandry and agricultural programs provided food and income, which helped to create self-sustaining communities.

• Food For The Poor continued to provide clean water, build schools, training centers, and clinics, and to support nursing homes and orphanages.  

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.

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