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Catholic PRWire

COCONUT CREEK, FL, (October 9, 2009) - Walkers raised enough money to feed more than 1,245 families as a prelude to World Food Day. The 3-mile walk was the first of two Food For The Poor events scheduled in October to bring awareness to the chronic malnutrition situation affecting the Caribbean and Latin America.

The day before the walk, Lynn University students built a 12-by-12 foot replica of a Food For The Poor house on the university’s lawn near the student center. The house is a smaller model of the 55,000 homes Food For The Poor has built and given to destitute families since 1982.

The house made an impression on Allie North, a junior at Boca Raton’s Spanish River High School. After seeing the Food For The Poor house on the lawn, she and other participants now want to travel to Haiti and become involved in the organization’s mission.

Live steel-drum music played as North, a member of her high school’s cross-country team, led the group in a warm-up stretch session. By 9:30 a.m. the walkers were on their way – some jogging, some pushing strollers.

When they finished the course, the walkers enjoyed sandwiches donated by 620 Subs, and gourmet chocolate chip cookies baked by Food For The Poor’s Executive Director, Angel Aloma. Additional Fun Walk sponsors included Lynn University, Vozzcom Electric, Celsius, Publix, and Winners Award Group.

“This year’s walk helps bring awareness to the importance of World Food Day,” Aloma said. “I was moved to see our community come together to help feed our brothers and sisters who are starving.”

On Oct. 16, which is World Food Day, students nationwide will join together for one night to participate in Food For The Poor’s “All-Nighter for the Poor.” Participating groups will interact with a live broadcast via a Web-conference to share videos, musical performances, photos, stories from the field and testimonials. Through raising awareness and sponsorship donations, college groups, high schools and organizations will fund programs that enable poverty-stricken communities throughout the Caribbean and Latin American to feed themselves.

In 2008, Lynn University students created the group “Students For The Poor” after they returned from a mission trip to Haiti with Food For The Poor. Club members helped organize the on-campus walk, and plan to participate in Food For The Poor’s “All-Nighter for the Poor.”

High school and college students can register to participate in All-Nighter for the Poor by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6988 or by e-mailing info@allnighterforthepoor.org. To download publicity materials, create personalized donation pages and more, visit www.allnighterforthepoor.org.

Florida campuses to participate in All-Nighter for the Poor include: Barry University, Broward College, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, Lynn University, Miami Dade College, Nova Southeastern University, University of Florida, University of Miami.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief organization in the nation and the No. 1 charity in Florida, does much more than simply feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. Since 1982, we have provided clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and emergency relief, with more than 96% of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For additional information, please visit the Web site www.foodforthepoor.org.

Contact

Food For The Poor
http://www.allnighterforthepoor.org  FL, 33073 US
Jennifer Oates - Public Relations, 954 427-2222

Keywords

Food For The Poor

Category

Catholic Schools & Religious Education