“From the Pit to the Palace”

Watch the Biblical Joseph go from the pit to the palace!!!

The Bethany United Methodist Children’s Choir and a full drama cast will present:

“From the Pit to the Palace”

Dinner Theater Performance in the Bethany UM Church Family Life Center

6388 Cincinnati Dayton Road
Liberty Township, Ohio 45044

Saturday, May 16
Dinner: 6:00 p.m. Performance: 7:00 p.m.

To reserve your tickets, call the church office 777-4448 by Friday, May 15!!!! (Leaving a message by THURSDAY will also work.)

Tickets cost $8/adult, $4/child 10 & under, $25/family maximum.

The money raised from this event will go to Kids Against Hunger.

Center Pointe's Student Ministry

Such a great idea from Center Pointe Christian Church's Student Minister, Steve Poston...

I wanted to ask you how much it costs you for one of the boxes that you use to ship the food packs? The reason is that our student ministry is going to sort of adopt Kids Against Hunger as a ministry that we support....What we're going to do is use the 3 empty boxes that I got from you when my group came and use them as a giving display. Students will be able to come in and give an offering in the box anytime they come to our programs. Every time we get $54, we'll tell them they just bought another box of food and we'll bring that money to you. What I would like to do is for every box of food we fund, I want to buy an empty box from you so that we can build a display wall to show as visual for what they are accomplishing.

After 3 months of this Student Ministry program, here's another update from Steve....

It’s been very successful so far. We place it the 3 box pyramid giving display on the front of our student center stage and leave it there. And then build the wall of boxes on the side of the stage. So far, 3 months, we have seen our students contribute over $600 and fund 11 boxes of food! Every time we get enough for a box, we send it and add a new box to our wall. Each time, we mention the total number of meals that we’ve provided and the number of kids that feeds for a year, it makes the impact of their actions very tangible and understandable.

Thank you to everyone involved with the Student Ministry at Center Pointe Christian Church! You are making a substantial difference in the lives of children around the world!

If your church or youth group would like to participate in the same program, please contact us at: KAH@achildshopeintl.org

Lady Bugs & Kids Against Hunger

Thank you Lady Bugs!
From one of KAH's most creative friends...Laura Weinbeger :-)

Trying to encourage the Upward Basketball* 1st &2nd grade girls team I was helping to coach, I challenged the “Ladybugs” that for every rebound they got during their eight game season, I would donate a quarter to KAH, so they could feed a child with each rebound. Having a daughter on the team nicknamed “the Haitian Sensation” gave Kids Against Hunger an even more significant part of my heart—and the hearts of her teammates. During the 1st game, a couple of girls asked me “How many kids are we feeding so far?” At the end of the game, that was the biggest question by all the girls (I think that game they had 18 or something).

My husband encouraged me to invite the parents to match what we were doing, and we had several offer to do so—but all the parents were enthusiastic about their girls playing for something more. In the second game, the girls had 37 rebounds!!!! A couple of parents laughed that maybe they’d have to just make a donation at the end of the season because a quarter a rebound might get pretty expensive. I happened to share with a pastor from another church—who had an older son playing Upward—the girls’ enthusiasm for feeding starving children by getting rebounds, and he and a family friend both wanted to bless the girls’ efforts by donating generously. That generosity served to encourage the girls even more!! We had a few rough games, but the girls continued to ask how many kids they were feeding—even helping me keep track of rebounds during the games. One player and her brother were assigned to do a Random Act of Kindness by their school. Both chose to donate their allowances that week to our team’s KAH fund.

Through seven games, the team had amassed 159 rebounds (some of these girls were playing basketball for the very first time!!)!!! In their final game, they had 45 rebounds, to bring the total to 203 rebounds!!!!! I think there are a few donations still to come, but so far the girls have raised $276.75 – or 1,107 meals!!!

I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of these girls and their beautiful enthusiasm for making a difference! Several other coaches liked the idea and at least one other team did the same.

*Upward Basketball is a Christ-centered basketball program in which every child is a winner. All players have equal playing time and there is a devotion in every practice and a half-time devotion in every game. The kids receive stars after each game signifying “best offense,” “best defense,” “best sportsmanship,” “best effort,” and my favorite—the white star, which represents “Christ-likeness.” Obviously, the “Ladybugs” was a team full of “white star” young ladies!!!!

Project Handclasp

KAH Team,

I'm pleased to inform you that the Project Handclasp (PH) component of Continuing Promise 2009 (CP09) on USNS COMFORT will contain 200 pallets of KAH meals. PH made all of them available for distribution in Haiti (1,425,600 total servings). 160 pallets from Minnesota are staged for onload on COMFORT tomorrow and 40 pallets from Ohio are slated for delivery to COMFORT tomorrow (PH coordinated with Mike Lloyd, Larry Bergeron, and Donald Curtis on this short-fused opportunity).

PH high-nutrition meal initiatives and the PH-KAH partnership are depicted in the sampling of photo/video links below. They are included especially for those who haven't seen them before.

The partnership of all involved is greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
P. C. Brown
Director, U.S. Navy's Project Handclasp
________________________________

First PH "MILLION MEALS" initiative for Haiti/U.S. relief mission (Sep
08):
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64359
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64358
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64138
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=39886

Sampling of pictures of the devastation in Haiti:
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64060
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64061
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64042
http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=64041

PH "MILLION MEALS" initiative in the Asia-Pacific region. This
component of MERCY Pacific Partnership 2008 (PP08) featured the U.S.
Ambassador to the Philippines, Navy Fleet Commander for the Western
Pacific, and PP08 Mission Commander. PH provided 380K High Nutrition
Meals in that U.S. outreach.
http://picasaweb.google.com/padgettoflouisville/CDOFeedingOperations?authkey=WDGtsZ9-CjU

PH "MILLION MEALS" initiative in Latin America - CP08 (Pacific)/BOXER,
etc.
http://www.southcom.mil/AppsSC/images/uploads/1III1I1213616763.JPG
http://www.navy.mil/management/videodb/player/video.aspx?id=11113 -
Video, CP08 in Peru
http://www.navy.mil/management/videodb/player/video.aspx?id=11111 -
Video, CP08 in Peru 2

PH "MILLION MEALS" initiative in AFRICOM - APS 07/FORT McHENRY, SWIFT,
etc.
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=34744
________________________________

USNS Comfort

An email from our executive director, Larry Bergeron, on Friday March 20 2009 at 7 PM:

Friends, this is an amazing story. We are in the process right now TONIGHT of shipping 40 pallets of Kids Against Hunger relief to the children in northwest Haiti. The US Navy ship, USNS Comfort (see below) was planning on taking 160 pallets of humanitarian relief to Port au Prince. We had a last minute opportunity to get 40 more pallets on the ship – free shipping! Right now, a truck is en route to get our supplies and then heading off immediately for the US Navy shipyard in Norfolk, VA. The ship will offload by helicopter around April 10, 2009.

This shipment (our contribution) was not planned or anticipated even a few days ago.

Why are we doing this? 50% of all children die before they reach the age of 15 because of hunger, malnutrition and related causes.

Our food costs for the 40 pallets are approximately $70,000. Shipping costs to Norfolk is $2,000. Sounds like a lot ~ but what is the worth of a child today?

We need your help financially, please let me know if you can help or go to http://www.achildshopeintl.org/DonateKAH.html

Want to know more about the children of Haiti – see http://achildshopeintl.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-is-restavec.html

Larry's trip to Haiti

Two weeks ago, our Executive Director and founder, Larry Bergeron, made a trip to Haiti. While there Larry helped deliver and serve the Kids Against Hunger food packets. Following are excerpts from his trip.....

Well team, I just got back early this AM from Haiti. We were at the NWHCM for a day (where we were last Sept before the Haiti Pack-A-Thon) and elsewhere around Port au Prince. As with NWHCM, the poverty is staggering all over the island and the sheer magnitude of the debility can be overwhelming.

At a tent meeting over the weekend, the people walked for miles (many down from the mountains) to come and even sleep on the floors. They sat on wooden benches and many ate the Kids Against Hunger packets along with special treats that were prepared (they butchered a cow while I was there and boiled it).

A small aqueduct ran by the mission which was fed from the mountain rains. In one part of the small stream (2 feet wide), children were using it as a bathroom

On Sunday night, a woman showed us her 1 month old son named Job. She asked us to take him as she could not care for him any longer. She could not nurse him and there was not enough food for her other children. She felt it best to let him go so he might survive. Lifeline asked if she would want to keep him if she could feed him. As a result, she will get KAH packets on a regular basis now. More food is needed than we can possibly imagine.

.....

I have about 20 or so hand sewn bags (pocketbook sized) crafted by some of the women at the mission in Haiti. They are trying to learn a trade (sewing) and get about ½ of the proceeds back to them. The other ½ is used for the supplies, operating expenses for the mission, etc. The also use the proceeds to pay for the foot pedal sewing machine (non-electric) that the women eventually are given.

A Child's Hope International has paid for the bags so that the mission has the money now. The plans are to sell these at the "Factory" on Saturday to those interested. The women have been oppressed, abused and are struggling to feed their children and to stay alive. I see these bags as a way to help them overcome the injustice.

They are priced from $20 - $30.

.....

Friends, many insights last week at NWHCM and several other outposts on the island.

* One child had a badly swollen belly (hunger). Note her hair color (reddish blonde) – the protein is leaving her hair from severe malnutrition. The internal parasites are awful.
* The other girl was worse than the first – yet note the smile on her face.
* At the care point kitchen, the 3rd girl (pink crocs) was getting her Kids Against Hunger meal for the day on her dish –a frisbee
* The mission compound was on a hillside in the mountains.

Sadly, the death among children is not abating at all. There are no gardens to speak of, 85% unemployment, no infrastructure, and more orphans than before. The presence of the UN forces has stabilized the crime rate. They were very obvious all around the capital city.

Cité Soleil (Sun City in English) is a very densely populated shanty town located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Most of its estimated 200,000 to 300,000 residents live in extreme poverty. The area is generally regarded as one of poorest, roughest, and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere's poorest country; it is one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. There is little police presence, no sewers, no stores, and little to no electricity. Bullet holes are as common as flies. Not wise to travel in the area without UN troops.

1 Million Meals

During the second shift on Saturday, February 28 2009, KAH - Cincinnati went over 1,000,000 meals produced...we actually got to 1,009,966 meals!!! To celebrate we shared a cake with the afternoon volunteers. Please stop and think of what we've been able to do together. In less than 10 months, we have been able to provide a life sustaining meal to 1 million children. Just think of what we'll be able to do when we have even more stable financing, more shift leaders and a dedicated packing facility. With your help, we are just getting started.

Please vist the KAH-Cincinnati website (www.hungernomore.us) to learn more about what we do and the availability of volunteering as a packer. With the increase in volunteers, we've made changes to the "flow" of outgoing and incoming packing sessions, re-organized parts of the "factory", and changed the time of the afternoon packing session. Thank you for all you do to feed the least of these.

Stay tuned for details of our Executive Director Larry Bergeron's trip to Haiti last week where he was able to deliver and serve the same food you helped pack.

Morning packing session volunteers

Afternoon packing session volunteers