As we approach the 2009 Halloween Evening, and start thinking about the massive amounts of sweets our children will be exposed to, it’s important for all of us to remember what happened on that Halloween night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in 1950. Five children went door to door with their pastor to collect money for their friends in post World War II Europe.  At each door, they not only opened their bags for candy, but held out empty milk cartons to collect coins for children in need overseas. They collected a total of $17 and donated the entire amount to UNICEF. The ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ program was started by that philanthropic action. In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson declared Halloween, October 31^st, to be “UNICEF Day.”

 Since 1950, over $130 million has been raised by the ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ campaign. Children from all over the world participate in the program including Canada, Ireland, Mexico and Hong Kong.  Monies raised go for vaccines, clean water and improved nutrition for less fortunate children.  Movie and TV star Sarah Jessica Parker, herself a trick- or- treater for UNICEF as a child served as the 2006  “Trick or Treat for UNICEF”  spokesperson and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador . “My involvement with ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ is particularly dear to me because I participated as a child,” Ms. Parker said. “Halloween can be very focused on the amassing of bucket-loads of sweets,” she added, “yet ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ demonstrates that kids can do good deeds and still have fun.  A positive first experience with philanthropy can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of giving.”

Here are a few examples of the benefits of raising money for UNICEF:

1. $1 protects a child from polio for life. Once at epidemic proportions in the United States claiming some 50,000 victims annually in the 1950’s, today polio still strikes children in the sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
2. Additionally, $1 immunizes one child against the deadly disease measles. Measles claims more children’s lives each year than wars, famines, and natural disasters combined.
3. $2 can provide 66 children with vitamin A capsules for a year. Vitamin A protects children from permanent blindness, helps them grow strong and protects against certain types of infections.
4. Just $2.46 can buy school supplies, such as pencils, books, chalk, slate board and paper for one child for one year.
5. Just $9 buys a pack of 200 water purification tablets. Five million Iraqis already lack access to safe water. Drinking unsafe water can lead to diarrheal diseases, which kills 1.5 million children each year.

“One of the greatest benefits of ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF’ is that it gives American children a wonderful opportunity to learn about the world around them,” said Charles J. Lyons, president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. “And when American children ‘Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF,’ they are literally helping to save other children’s lives.”

The 53-year tradition of “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF” offers children the chance to gain a meaningful experience during Halloween festivities, while still having fun. By carrying the orange UNICEF collection box, children in the United States raise money to help children in need worldwide, and, in the process, learn the important role they can play in helping each other.

For more information on getting involved with UNCEF, go to http://youth.unicefusa.org/trickortreat/

Derived from Ancient Greek, philanthropy means “to love people.” The act of donating goods, services, money, and time to support a socially beneficial cause at no material reward to the donor is the best gift one person can give to another.

Much has been written lately about the emotional, physical, and educational benefits associated with participating in global community service projects. The myriad of benefits are as vast as the aid organizations we seek to adopt. In order for children to become conscientious and productive members of society, they must be provided with engaging, meaningful, and relevant opportunities to develop a sense of civic responsibility. Not only will students benefit from increasing their knowledge base, but it will also help your students to develop respect for others, patience, tolerance, and compassion for people who may be different, leadership skills, and citizenship.

How many times have you heard your students ask, “Why do we have to learn this stuff anyway?” I must admit that these words also passed through my lips as a child, but why? If children aren’t afforded the opportunity to make real world connections to the subject matter we are asking them to learn, the material just won’t stick! In order for children to fully understand the relevance and benefits of establishing proper eating habits and adopting a lifelong fitness plan, often times they need to see the adverse effects to really  drive the point home. As teachers, we need to find a way to make the material personal and instill a sense of passion for learning within our students.

When devising a community service based project, you need to combine content material from a variety of disciplines in order to achieve success both academically and civically.

Remember, service based projects require teachers to educate and to motivate. Be a facilitator not a dictator!

4 Steps to Success-RIPA

Research and discuss the issues regarding childhood malnutrition and obesity

Identify the problems and needs within your own community

Plan an event to tackle the problems associated with childhood hunger and/or obesity

Act by implementing your plan and carrying it out to its conclusion

As educators, we frequently try to reinvent the wheel in an effort to come up with the greatest curriculum ideas of all time. However once you start surfing the internet, you will find out that great minds do think alike and somebody has already thought of your idea. As a result you have two choices. The first one is to use their curriculum exactly as they have written it, or you can infuse some of your own ideas and make it your own.  Why not save yourself some time and take a look at some of the following resources and decide what will work best for you!

Resource List

Service Learning Opportunities

Youth Service America

www.YSA.org

Learn and Serve

www.learnandserve.org

Youth Service Opportunities

www.ysop.org

Service Learning

www.servicelearning.org

Youth Venture

http://www.genv.net/about_youth_venture/

Childhood Hunger Organizations

Feeding Minds

www.feedingminds.org

Great American Bake Sale

www.greatamericanbakesale.org

The Hunger Site

www.thehungersite.com

Project Bread

www.projectbread.org

Second Harvest

www.secondharvest.org

Fundraising Ideas

http://www.fundraising-ideas.org/DIY/

http://www.fundraiserhelp.com/elementary-school-fundraisers.htm

Have you ever been so hungry that you felt sick? You are not alone.

Millions of people today go to bed with an empty stomach and without the hope of having a better tomorrow, but thanks to non-profit organizations like the Daily Bread Food Bank (DBFB), some get a modest meal.

The DBFB, the largest food bank in the state of Florida, started in 1981 to reduce hunger in South Florida. It’s an affiliate of Feeding America and a member of the Florida Association of Food Banks.

Its goal: Reduce hunger by reducing the amount of food we waste each day.

According to www.stopthehunger.com, today, more than 15 tons of food will be wasted in the United States, and families in our country will spend more than $13 million on food that will be tossed. $13 million would allow the DBFB to serve more than 78 million meals.

Because the organization is a non profit, it buys food at discount rates. Each dollar the organization receives is enough to serve six meals.

DBFB also accepts food donations.

DBFB, together with its 800 affiliate organization, feeds people in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties. But in the last year, with the economic downturn, the organization has seen a shortage of food. “The economy has affected us from the perspective that there is an increase demand of food,” said Anthea Pennant, who works at the DBFB. “More and more people are needing more.”

In spite of the economic crisis, Pennant says she hasn’t seen less donations.

“The great thing about our country is that those who like to give, give even during difficult times.”

Since its beginning in 1981, the DBFB has opened warehouses in all the counties it serves, and it has gone from providing about 432,000 pounds of food a year to serving 18 million pounds each year.

According to Census Bureau figures from 2006, approximately 150,000 people are unemployed in the four counties the DBFB serves. The organization currently provides food to 117,000 individuals each year, including some who are employed but live under poverty levels.

Those who would like to join DBFB’s cause and make donations can do so on the organization website, which also provides information about the Florida Food Stamps program for low-income families. For more information about the organization and ongoing food drives or to contact DBFB representatives please visit http://www.dailybread.org/.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as the Food Stamps Program, brings food to millions of household today, and it could bring food to yours too –if you qualify.

The program which started under the leadership of Henry Wallace, the Secretary of Agriculture in 1939, provides food to low and no income people in the United States.

The program, however, recently changed its name to include the Federal Government’s focus on providing beneficiaries with something more than food. The Government is interested in making good and healthy nutrition available to everyone. But the change in the name did not bring changes to the requirements applicants must meet. Those who qualified to receive assistance under the previous name may still qualify today.

The requirements:

No more than $2,000 in bank accounts and a gross monthly income of $1,907, or less, for a family of three. Applicants must have a social security number, and all able-bodied adults must meet certain work requirements.

If you are eligible for the program you could receive up to $130 for one person and more than $250 for a couple. But to get the money you must first apply.

To apply for benefits or to gather more information about the program you must contact your local SNAP office, where you will fill out the state application form. If you qualify, you will receive an electronic card that is used like an ATM card and accepted at most grocery stores.

This card, however, can only be used to purchase regular foods and seeds to grow at your house. Pet food, heated food and alcoholic beverages cannot be purchased with the card.

Since the program began more than six decades ago it has helped many, this year the program is helping more people than ever before.

The reason: the economic crisis.

With our country facing a recession many are losing their jobs, and bringing food to the table is becoming more difficult. It’s for that reason that according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), last September participation in SNAP topped 31.5 million. But while the economy has indeed been the main force behind these numbers, it has not been the only force. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which hit Louisiana and Texas, also played a role.

According to the FRAC, today in nearly half of the states, one out of every ten residents is receiving food stamps, and you could be the next one to receive help.

For more information about the program and to take an eligibility test visit www.fns.usda.gov/FSP/ or call 1-866 762-2237

Americans are feeling the effects of a troubled national economy. Soaring fuel and food prices are taking their toll on families, with no sign of relief in sight.

These economic hardships affect our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. In the United States, more than 12 million children are at risk of hunger. In Florida alone, more than 627,000 children are at risk of hunger. Nearly 1 in 10 Florida households are food insecure—that’s more than 680,000 families who lack access to the nutritious foods they need to lead healthy, active lives.

As a chef, I take pleasure in feeding people. As a citizen, I find it appalling that people in my community are hungry.

Twenty years ago, I joined Share Our Strength’s efforts to fight hunger. In 1988, the organization created Taste of the Nation, the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. I chaired Share Our Strength’s first Taste of the Nation event in Miami, and continue to be part of Share Our Strength’s national efforts. Since then, we’ve raised more than $5 million in Florida through Taste of the Nation events in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach and Orlando. Share Our Strength has raised more than $200 million to end childhood hunger nationwide.

Recognizing the need for a more coordinated approach to address childhood hunger in Florida, Share Our Strength in partnership with Florida Impact recently launched the state’s first plan to end childhood hunger. The Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Florida has been endorsed by Lieutenant Governor Kottkamp and includes representatives from the public and private sectors. The partnership aims to:

• improve the economic security of Florida’s families,
• provide better nutrition education to Florida’s families,
• maximize existing tools and resources to address hunger and malnutrition, and,
• close the gaps in service delivery among Florida’s food and nutrition providers.

In 2006, more than $1 billion from three federal food programs in Florida (school breakfast, food stamps and summer feeding programs) went unspent. The Partnership’s plan will use these funds to expand federal feeding programs in more than 50 counties, beginning with Orange, Polk, and Osceola counties; Hillsborough and Pinellas counties; and Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. By using these funds, we can feed more than 864,000 eligible children free school breakfast; increase the value of food stamps; aid and support more summer feeding programs; and help food pantries and emergency food programs expand their distribution and educational services.

Through the Partnership’s plan, we can end childhood hunger in Florida. There has never been a more critical time for such a plan. Together, we can make sure that no child in Florida grows up hungry