Standing Together to Help Our Nation and Our World

Like millions of others, I watched President Barack Obama give his inauguration speech this past Tuesday. In a time of such uncertainty, I wanted to hear his plans for our nation and our world. But as the president and founder of Feed The Children, I specifically wanted to know his plans for the hungry and suffering.

Here’s what he said, "To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."

Regardless of whether you voted for him or not, President Obama has pledged to stand beside you and I and help us reach the world's suffering children. While I’m grateful for his support, I know the government can only do so much. This is a big job and it will take every one of us pulling together to make a real, lasting difference.

As world economies tumble, more people than ever before are finding themselves at the end of their rope. Never before has the work of Feed The Children been more vital to families very survival. If our nation, let alone our world, is going to rally and overcome these dire times, our first step is to reach out and let people know we care. Who knows, someday one of the very children we help might one day be President, if just given the chance to survive and succeed.

Record Unemployment Rates Mean More Children Are at Risk

The question people used to commonly ask their friends is, “How is your job?” Now, more often they’re asking, “Do you still have job?” Last week, the Labor Department announced the unemployment rate had jumped to 7.2 percent in December, a 16-year high. And this week it was reported that in the first week of January, 524,000 people filed for unemployment. That’s a half million more unemployed people IN ONE WEEK!

These days everyone knows of a friend or family member who’s lost their job. It’s truly heart wrenching. But what’s really upsetting is how this is affecting our nation’s children. They are the innocent victims of our sour economy.

Especially hard hit are families who were already barely struggling to get by. More and more I’m hearing about small cities becoming like ghost towns after the local factory closes its door. There’s no work to be found. Some desperate parents must travel 80-100 miles just to find a job. What doesn’t get eaten up in fuel costs is usually barely enough to scrape by. More and more they are turning to local food pantries to feed their children. And all too often, they are being turned away empty-handed because there’s just not enough food to meet the staggering need.

This year, we’re going to have to work harder than ever to reach out to struggling families and hard-hit communities with food and other essentials. Thankfully, we have faithful partners standing with us on the front lines . . . generous friends who believe like I do that no child should go hungry in America!

Amazed By Our Country’s Resolve

Recently we began asking people visiting our website to share their struggles. We want to hear how Americans are coping with recent economic pressures—a slowing economy, rising energy and the global food crisis. The responses we receive, and there are many, demonstrate just how tough things have gotten in our nation.

But what really surprises me is how many emails I get like this:

“Larry, even in these hard times, when I can, I put the dollars I can spare in the envelope and send them to Feed The Children. God is good, and even though times are hard for us, they are even harder for someone else. Luckily, my children are grown so I do not have to face hungry eyes.”

Just like many of us, this couple had to turn down the heat, clip coupons and reduce their spending recently. But they also remember that there are those that are much worse off – mothers and fathers struggling just to put food on the table. So even if they send just a dollar or two, they know that when they add that to the dollar or two of other caring Americans, it adds up and makes a life-changing difference.

It’s caring and compassion like this that will get us through these trying times and making us a stronger nation. After all, that’s the American way!

The New Year Will Be Full of Challenges

We look upon the beginning of a new year as a chance for a fresh start. Full of resolutions to look better, act better and be better. I recently came across a poll that CBS did that gave some great tips on how to live a better life. They interviewed 100 people over 100 years old to ask them their tips for leading a happy life. Many of their answers were simple yet, profound: stay close to family and friends, laugh, be spiritual and look forward to each new day.

I know in these turbulent economic times, it can be hard to look forward to each new day. But staying positive is the only way to help our nation begin to heal. And while you and I can’t solve all the problems our nation is facing right now, but there’s something we can do. We can continue to reach out to hurting American families with nourishing food and essentials supplies, giving them a reason to have hope for tomorrow.

I’m proud of the work Feed The Children does each year. And in 2009, I know we’ll be able to reach more hungry little boys and girls than ever before — all thanks to our caring friends and partners. People like you who support our mission and believe in making tomorrow a better day for struggling American families.

2008 – A Turbulent Year in America

It seems like every time I turn on the TV or read a news story, there’s another report on our flailing economy. In fact, MSNBC has a whole section of their site called Economy In Turmoil. These stories are full of statistics and analysis of the state of our country. But I don’t think in terms of numbers. I go by what I see.

I see the proud father having to come to a food bank for the first time in his life because he’s lost his job and his home. I see a single mother crying for help because she can no longer afford to feed her children. And I see more of this in America today than I have in the 30-years since I began Feed The Children.

But no matter how bad the news may be, I have hope. And that hope comes from the many supporters Feed The Children is blessed to have. These wonderful individuals, and even entire companies, rally with us when times are tough. They help us reach out to the hurting and hungry across our nation – and our world – with good food and real hope.

So while the nation is focusing on the high unemployment and foreclosure rates, I’m able to focus on another all-time high. This past year, Feed The Children shipped more than 135 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and families in all 50 states and in 32 foreign countries, supplementing almost 800,000 meals a day worldwide. And this was all made possible by caring people like you!

Making Miracles Happen

Often a miracle is something that starts ordinary and becomes extraordinary. Take for instance the day I met a young boy named Jerry. It was 1979 in Haiti. I had just finished preaching at a local church when a boy came up to me and asked me for a nickel to buy a roll. For three cents more he could put butter on it. I told him he better get a drink to wash it down too and I gave him 20 cents. That was the only meal Jerry would have that day. After that meeting, Jerry’s plight haunted me. I thought of the surplus wheat in my home state of Oklahoma and how many rolls it would provide to hungry children like Jerry. And from there Feed The Children was born.

Until I was 38 years old, I preached to people, telling them how to live. But after I met Jerry, I was compelled to focus more energy on living what I preached.

What a blessing it was for me to meet Jerry that day. Just look at what Feed The Children has accomplished today, feeding thousands of hungry children every day abroad and right here in the U.S. Thirty years ago, I never imagined in my wildest dreams we’d be able to help so many. To me, that is a miracle.

This holiday season, we are making more miracles happen. Our goal is to put 175 trucks full of food on the road all across America by Christmas. With the support of kind friends, I believe we can do it. Just imagine the look of joy that will spread across a hungry child’s face when he sees a big box of food for his family. It’s the same expression I saw on Jerry’s face when I handed him that 20 cents.

Nothing short of miraculous.

The Cupboard Is Bare

Every year, the New York Times runs a special Giving section in its newspaper just before the holiday season. Usually, this section focuses on all the good being done in the world by various charitable organizations. But this year, the focus was on the need. You see, in trying economic times like these, many people cut back their giving to charities like Feed The Children. But the irony is, we need that support now more than ever.

Every day more and more calls are pouring in for help. Directors of food pantries and shelters and even church pastors are pleading for us to send our trucks their way. In the past four months demand for food aid has risen 20 percent in areas with the healthiest economies and more than 40 percent in the areas with the weakest. Tragically, this means that the cupboard is bare before all the hungry can be fed. Caring volunteers are forced to turn away hungry families, telling them there’s no food left.

And it’s not just the unemployed who are looking for help. More and more we’re seeing working moms and dads struggling to make ends meets because their wages aren’t keeping up with the rising costs of living.

I just hope that those who are still blessed with a good job and a roof over their heads won’t forget about all those who need our help. During these trying times, it’s more important than ever to reach out to these hurting children and families with good food –and something to hope for!