Feinstein Challenges Us
to Feed the Hungry
In the past, many U.S. citizens might have had to travel far to
see someone in need. Today, many can spot someone struggling just by looking
outside their front door.
You could become the next person on your block to face disaster;
become unemployed, hungry, homeless, sick, or hurt by life’s experiences. Today
is the day for us to face a serious challenge. Now is the time to show what you
value most. Where you put your time, talents, effort, and money will tell the
true story of your life.
You have an opportunity to answer the cry for help in your
community. Will you aid those who cross your path?
If feeding the hungry is a call to you, then I invite you to
participate in the Feinstein Foundation’s Million Dollar Challenge to Feed the
Hungry. All proceeds go to the community where you work and live.
I wish I could express how a person in need feels when help
comes. I will try by telling you about an experience I had.
A few years back Hurricane Frances came through Florida. My
house sustained major damage and was uninhabitable.
Neighborhood teenagers volunteered to shovel out the debris that once was my
home. Volunteers from across the country stopped and asked if I was OK. One time
I was walking down the street where a neighbor had put out the trash, along with
a bucket of grapefruit that had come down during the storm. Believe me, I was
hungry, and they looked very good.
I was exhausted and emotionally drained. God continued to send
help. I thank God for his mercy and gentleness in showing me what it feels like
to be hungry. I was blessed to learn this lesson in just three days.
I can tell you that your help makes a difference. For most
people in need, the gratitude is inexpressible.
The Feinstein Foundation’s Million Dollar Challenge to Feed the
Hungry is a simple project that will bring extra money to your community through
a small grant from philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein. Participants raise
money, pledges, canned goods, and dry goods during March and April. At the end
of the project we fill out a brief report, and Feinstein sends a donation to
each participating group.
This donation is to be added to money raised in your community.
Each year Feinstein not only donates to each participating
group, but if we meet our goal he sends an extra $1,200 to the church World
Hunger Fund. Each year our fundraising goal has gone up. Each year we have
received an extra grant from Feinstein.
In our first year we raised approximately $150,000. Since then,
we have increased the amount annually, and last year we reached about $400,000.
I thank all of our participants on behalf of the people you have touched and
helped in the name of Christ.
This year our goal has been raised to $420,000. Each year I
can’t imagine how we can raise more than the year before. Somehow, each year
more people step forward.
With needs growing across our country, more people will choose to help. Now is
the time to pull together.
To get involved in the Million Dollar Challenge to Feed the
Hungry, please e-mail me at
feinsteinchallenge@CofChrist.org or call (352) 746-7699 and leave your name
and phone number. I’ll get back to you with more details. Also check the
information on the church’s 10 Minute News Report at
www.CofChrist.org/news/10min/.
—Joyce Carter reporting
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