As July 4 approaches and many of us make plans for cookouts, fireworks, and time with family and friends, we at Feed The Children are busy preparing for our next stop on the Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan™.  During the Caravan’s various stops, we’ll provide thousands of struggling families with food and personal care items, items that will help them get through the tough times they face.

While it is heartbreaking to meet people like Greg from Elkhart, Indiana who has been unemployed since November and is doing everything he can to be able to feed his family, being a part of a great American tradition – Americans helping other Americans in a time of need – fills me with great pride.  You see, this is the land of plenty: plenty of food, plenty of compassion, plenty of good-hearted people willing to make a difference.  There’s no shortage of empathy turned into action in this country—and that’s what makes America great.

This July 4, please join me in celebrating America’s greatness by supporting the Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan™.

Gail is a single mother who became physically disabled after severe domestic abuse. She lost not only her health, but her career, her home, her savings and her self-esteem.  She wrote to us after seeing a story about one of our recent food distributions which included cosmetics donated to by one of our generous corporate partners.

“I know in a world where people are starving and homeless and jobless, some may consider [distributing free makeup to women] silly.”

But Gail, who had received a similar gift of makeup when she was living in extreme poverty, recognized the transformation power of the gift.  At the time, she had very low self-esteem, and no money to spend on herself.  The gift of cosmetics helped transform Gail’s self-image; it also helped transform her in the eyes of others.

“In our society, you can’t ‘look’ like you live in poverty if you want to rise above poverty,” said Gail. “People classify you by your economic external representation.”

According to Gail, the gift of makeup—and the confidence it brought—helped create real transformation in her life.  “Having the ability to define myself in a manner which was equal to [others] changed many things.” 

As Gail gained confidence, she was eventually able to complete her degree and get back on her feet. 

We are grateful for the support of our generous corporate partners who allow us to include a little something “extra” at our food distributions for women in need.  We hope such gifts allow more women like Gail to regain the confidence they need to lift themselves out of poverty.

Job losses may be slowing slightly, but the unemployment rate in America recently hit a 26-year high.  With unemployment at 9.4% percent, millions of American families are at serious risk of hunger and even homelessness.

Declining jobs in the manufacturing, construction and retail sectors are hitting the working and middle classes hard.  Business and professional services are also struggling to retain jobs.

What can be done to help out-of-work families weather this crisis? 

 
Our Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan™ is reaching out to communities with some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation.  Learn more about how the Caravan is helping American families devastated by layoffs.