Now what about tomorrow? Or even tonight if you get a little hunger and head to fridge for that midnight snack? Chances are you know where your next meal will come from, or at least have money to pick up something should it strike your fancy. (Sonic chicken strips sound bomb right now btw...)
For 6,200 kids in the world today, the question of where their next meal will come from is no longer important. That is because they are part of a growing statistic of children who die every day from a lack of food. That's a lot of kids who will never grow up to live out their dreams and realize their potential. The world is a sadder place for their loss, we can only imagin what they would have done with their lives.
But worry not my dear blog readers. Despite my former Goth days, (check out my first entry,) this post is not about death. Rather this post is about life and all the good things it has to offer us and how you, yes you, can change the world.
Which leads me to this.............
Looks tasty huh?
Words cannot describe how difficult it is for me to try to focus on writing this entry. To my left sits these nice big, round, chocolate/peanut butter no bake cookies. And I know they would taste AMAZING. Why? Because I made them earlier this afternoon along with the pigs in a blanket in the glass bowl behind them. I've been craving said cookies all day. Especially since I didn't even get to lick the spoon.......
So why? Why do this to myself? Why place these cookie next to my computer at work in plain view when I know I have a bikini to try to squeeze into in a few months? Do I hate myself? Am I crazy? Do I like to torture myself and my soul by putting the one thing I am craving most in arms reach?
The answer to these questions is the same: No. (Well the crazy maybe a little. But it's in the good way.) The cookies and the pigs next to them are part of a fund raiser I am doing for my favorite charity. Every cookie cost 25 cents. The pigs in a blanket 50 cents. But they represent way more than a tasty treat. Each cookie is a meal. A life. A child in need. And hope.
Feed my Starving Children is a wonderful charity located here in Tempe. I was first introduced to them back in 2010 when I was competing in another pageant. Their purpose is simple: to package meals and deliver them to children in over 70 countries around the world who are dying from hunger. They provide the food to pack, volunteers pack the food during 2 hour packing sessions. It's that simple. Heck, over the last two weeks I've helped pack a total of 440 boxes of food. That's a total of 15,840 meals. And I had a blast doing it too. Plus I get to rock an awesome hair net. How sexy is that?
The recipe for hope is really simple. Vitamins, veggies, soy, and rice. That's it. That's all it takes to give them hope for another day.
And anyone can do it! This picture is one of my favorites of all time. It is a picture of my faith in humanity being restored. These two little girls, 4 and 7, asked their mom to bring them with her to help feed these kids. And you know what? Our group packed an amazing 93 boxes of food in two hours. That is enough to feed 55 kids every day for a year. Earlier today I saw two older ladies and an older man come in with their canes and walkers and sit down while they packed the food.
Now let's get down to the numbers. (What can I say? I'm a future Accountant. I love numbers!)
Each meal they pack - 22 cents
Each Bag (holds 6 meals) - $1.32
Each Box (Holds 32 bags) - $47.52
Cost to Feed a Child for a Year - $80.30
That's it folks. Eighty bucks is all it takes to feed a child for a year. (Parents I know you'd LOVE to feed your kids for a year for 80 bucks!) Eighty dollars to not only keep these kids alive, but give them a chance to go to school. To give them hope. To keep them from becoming just another sad number that you try to ignore when you hear it. Because let's face it, hearing that every day 6,200 children are dying is a painful thing. No one likes to hear that. There's a lot of pain in this world and the natural response is simply close your eyes and press on.
I had someone recently accuse me of not caring about the 19 firefighters who lost their lives in the Yarnell fire this week. That hurt because I actually care a lot. My father is a police officer so I understand the danger all of our first responders face. And I can also understand the heartbreak their families now feel. It's overwhelming. I have to push it out of my mind at times because if I don't, I will just break down and cry because it's so sad.
But there's a difference here. We can't fix the fire. We sadly can't bring back those firefighters and reunite them with their families. But we can feed these children. We can take that 6,200 number and destroy it.
So how can you help? You can give your time and help pack food. You can also donate money to help buy more food to pack. 92% of all the donations they receive goes right back into the feeding program. Don't believe me? Check them out on Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9307)
You can also read more, and sign up to back food on their site www.fmsc.org. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
The moral of the story, we can do this. We can fix this issue. I know this because I've seen it happen. When I started working with them in 2010, over 18,000 children were dying a day. Progress is being made folks. We can keep it up. We can make a difference. We can change the world.
Even if it's one cookie at a time.
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