Will you Help us Prevent People from Going Hungry?

The world produces enough food for everyone, yet 900 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat. Meanwhile, many of us have more than we need.

It’s a surprising statistic, but did you know the average person wastes 14 percent of his/her food? That can amount to $600 worth of food in a year (source: University of Arizona). Just 5 percent of what we don’t use would be enough to feed 4 million hungry people for a day (source: CNN.com).

What if for just one day, you said “No, thank you,” to extras and meals out and donated the money you saved to hunger relief and prevention?

We are asking people all across the country to say “no, thank you,” together.

You can make help make a tremendous difference to a family if you simply take the cost of your lunch and/or dinner and donate it to Concern Worldwide US, to help us provide emergency food rations to over 200,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable—pregnant women and children under five—who often can only afford to eat a meal every two days.

Your Participation in Concern’s Empty Plate Campaign Can Change that! 

Three easy ways to join Concern in the fight against hunger:

1. DONATE NOW.Work out what you spend on food on an average day — it’s probably more than you think! Agree to skip a meal or go without food for just one day and donate the cost of those meals to Concern. You will be amazed at just how much of a difference you can make to a family in need.
   
   
2. REGISTER YOURSELF. Sign up online, and get your family and friends to sponsor you to skip a meal or go without food for a day. The individual who raises the most money towards the Empty Plate campaign will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit one of Concern’s programs overseas!
   
   
3. REGISTER A TEAM.Get your company involved in the Empty Plate campaign! Register online and designate an “Empty Plate Day,” on which you all skip a meal and get friends, colleagues, and family to sponsor you and donate the money to Concern! You could even organize an Empty Plate Day competition within your place of work, and see which department can raise the most money. All you need to do is register a team today. The company that raises the most money towards the campaign will have a unique opportunity to see Concern’s work in action overseas.

Partnering with Concern in a Truly Special Way
In 2008, Concern U.S. is launching a new initiative that will help bring those most active in the campaign a little closer to the work they are supporting. It is a unique opportunity not only to support Concern’s work, but also to visit our humanitarian workers on the front lines and understand the realities of tackling poverty every day. The announcement of which company and which individual will be visiting one of Concern’s programs overseas will take place in January 2009. (To qualify you must be over 18 years of age.)

We are offering this opportunity to the leading individual and company who have demonstrated their commitment and leadership in the fight against poverty by engaging the largest number of people and raising the most funds towards poverty alleviation.  

Concern’s Empty Plate campaign asks you to become involved, to take action, and to help us ensure that no child in our world has to go hungry. Right now, we are providing emergency food rations to over 200,000 of the most vulnerable mothers and children in Ethiopia. Your support will allow us to reach many more of those in greatest need.

 Remember, it’s not just an empty plate for one day—it’s a way to make “no” the most positive response on earth.

Caption: Family displaced by conflict living in Concern-run camp, Darfur, Sudan. Photo credit: Concern Worldwide US