In November 2018, Random Acts encouraged all of our supporters to take part in our annual Endure4Kindness (E4K) event, and as always, you blew us away with your creativity and kindness. Money raised during E4K allows us to sponsor acts of kindness all around the world. Funds from E4K 2018 are also going toward fighting childhood hunger. Whether you challenged yourself with your own E4K activity, spread the word on social media, supported others with their E4K fundraising, or donated to The Bad Idea Tour, your participation is helping to make the world a better place. We love being able to share some of the ways that your hard work is helping to fight food insecurity.
Next up: #RANoHungryChild goes to Ohio!
El Centro
El Centro aims to help the Latinx community in Loraine, Ohio, by breaking down language barriers and increasing access to community resources. As part of that work, El Centro provides case management, interpretation and translation services for medical and social service appointments, and assistance with job hunting and employment. El Centro boosts access to education by distributing educational materials to the community, offering GED (General Education Diploma) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses on site and running youth leadership programs. One of these youth programs is the 231 Go! Summer Camp, a branch of their 231 Go! Workshops for middle schoolers.
231 Go!
Most of the 60 students who attend the 231 Go! Summer Camp receive free breakfast and lunch at school during the academic year. This means that there is a gap during the summer, during which families strain to provide breakfast and lunch in addition to the dinner, snacks, and weekend meals they supply during the school year. When US South East Regional Representative Emily Rivera-Jackson reached out to El Centro, they identified the campers as the perfect recipients for some of our #RANoHungryChild funds.
Emily was able to purchase $1,500 worth of food donations for El Centro. The donation included water, juices, sports drinks, shelf-stable milk, cereals, granola bars, peanut butter, pretzels, crackers, fruit snacks, and more. El Centro staff distributed this food to the parents and children of the 231 Go! Summer Camp so that the families would have access to snack options moving forward.
Blessing House
Emily did not stop there, though! She also reached out to Blessing House, a children’s crisis center that operates as a safety net for families experiencing crisis. Blessing House cares for 10 children at a time, offering a safe space for children and peace of mind for parents. This is a vital resource for those who are experiencing homelessness, trying to escape domestic violence, or finding themselves in another emergency situation. Because of your generosity, Emily was able to donate $500 worth of baby food, cold cereals, oatmeal, and snacks to Blessing House.
We are so thankful for the hard work that El Centro and Blessing House do for their community! Hopefully, our #RANoHungryChild donation helps to ease the burden of childhood hunger in Loraine, Ohio. If you are interested in volunteering with or donating to these wonderful organizations, you can learn more about helping El Centro here and helping Blessing House here.