I know—you don’t want to hear any more bad news. Not about the housing crisis.  Not about layoffs.  And certainly not about the economy as a whole.

I don’t blame you one bit. 

I don’t want to hear about it either.

What I do want to hear are stories.  Stories about greatness.  Stories about goodness. Good old-fashioned stories about heroes. 

In hard times, heroes often emerge … and as I travel the country reaching out to struggling American communities, I find myself encountering more of these heroes every day.

Real heroes rarely have aliases, weapons, or disguises.  They live simple lives.  They do simple work.  They have not-so-exotic names like Tracy … and Don … and Isabel. They come from not-so-exotic places like Wilmington, Ohio and Elkhart, Indiana.

But they encounter very real obstacles—like mass corporate layoffs and some of the highest unemployment figures in the nation—and they overcome with grit, strength of character and sacrifice.

We are here to offer support to such heroes, because real-life heroes are still vulnerable.  They can still go hungry.  They can still suffer. 

That’s why Feed The Children is reaching out to real-life heroes in the towns and communities across America hit hardest by mass layoffs and unemployment.

If you would like to learn more about this effort, or to join us with us in supporting American families in crisis, please click here.

We are reaching out to hard-working Americans who have been hit hard by the current economic crisis.

Since November 1, 2008, nearly half a million people have been laid off at America’s largest public companies. 

Many corporate layoffs have occurred in concentrated geographic areas, meaning certain towns and communities are feeling the pain of the current economic crunch more than the rest of us.

Wilmington, OH, is one such town.  The closing of a DHL Express hub resulted in mass layoffs affecting 1 out of 3 families in Wilmington, bringing the town’s economy to a grinding halt.

Elkhart, Indiana is another town suffering from spiking unemployment.  The town relies heavily on income from the RV industry.  But in a slow economy, demand for recreational vehicles is down dramatically, placing tremendous strain on the local economy.

Feed The Children is reaching out to communities like Wilmington and Elkhart in a massive relief effort: the Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan.

This caravan of trucks filled with food and essentials will make stops across the country, focusing on communities with some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.

So far, the Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan has reached over 11,000 families in Wilmington and Elkhart.  But many more communities in America desperately need our help to cope with rising unemployment.

Please, help us keep the Caravan going to other towns and communities across the US.  And help us provide support to hard-working Americans who have fallen on some very hard times.

The spirit and resolve of an eighth grade girl from South Carolina recently captured the attention of President Obama—and commanded his respect. 

Ty’Sheoma Bethea’s education is constantly being disrupted by leaky ceilings and a blaring train.  But she is determined to achieve greatness … to overcome in spite of bleak circumstances.  “We are not quitters,” she wrote to President Obama.

 
No, we are not a nation of quitters.

We are diligent workers, innovators … and givers.  In fact, America is the most generous nation in the world, with a full 70 percent of Americans giving to charity each year.

And now our nation needs the generosity of its private citizens more than ever. 

Some of us are facing true economic hardship.  But many of us are still in good financial standing—stunned by the onslaught of bad economic news, perhaps—but in good financial standing nonetheless.  We have money to pay our bills, money to feed our families.

But others in America are not so fortunate.  For American families struggling to stay afloat, Feed The Children is kicking our domestic relief efforts into overdrive. 

Helping American families in need has always been a big part of what Feed The Children does. And with your help, we’ll make sure that hurting American families continue to find the help they need to sustain them in difficult times.

Dire economic predictions can paralyze us with fear.  Or we can continue doing what Americans do best:  work hard, innovate, and look after those truly in need.