If you read my blog on a regular basis you know that I feel strongly about hunger, especially when it is happening in our own backyards. It breaks my heart that in a day and age when people don’t think twice about spending $500+ on the newest cellphone, yet their neighbors children are going to bed hungry tonight because their parents simply cannot afford a decent meal for their family.
One thing that I have learned over the years, especially as a blogger, is that you cannot tell what “hunger” looks like. For example, people might assume their neighbor is well off because they own a nice home. What you might not know is maybe that same neighbor lost their job and is facing foreclosure and struggling to put food on the table. You might also know someone who appears to make a lot of money, but maybe you don’t know about some astronomical medical bills they must pay which forces them to give up many necessities, such as a good meal, in order to pay them off.
When it comes to hunger never assume that someone is safe from it. Food instability can hit anyone at anytime, whether you are middle class or wealthy.
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Share Our Strength’s Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry.
The idea behind is Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry is to not only raise funds, but also awareness, about hunger issues in our country. Incredibly just $1.00 can help provide up to TEN meals for a hungry child. The next time you are enjoying that $4.00 mocha latte on your way to work think about how that same $4.00 could have provided up to 10 meals for four hungry children. It certainly makes you think twice about ordering that drink next time. If you could give up just ONE expensive gourmet drink a month you could make a world of difference in the life of a child.
Hosting a bake sale and submitting the funds to the Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry is not only easy to do, but also fun for your family and your community. Here are a few suggestions I hope you will consider. You can even win prizes for raising money for the campaign.
I would encourage anyone considering hosting, or participating, in a Bake Sale to check out the Resource Center. There you can find valuable tools like planning checklists, templates for flyers, location and pricing advice, and other helpful tips to make events successful and fun.
Participants will be rewarded for completing their bake sales with a variety of gifts on a monthly basis. For bake sales raising between $250 – $1,000+, bakers will receive select items from Kmart’s Sandra by Sandra Lee collection, ranging from silicone oven mitts to ceramic ramekins to a travel cake keeper. They can sign up at Bake.NoKidHungry.org/GetStarted.
If baking isn’t your thing, you can recruit friends and family to contribute to your own personal Virtual Bake Sale and raise funds online. Sadly I’m not much of a baker (although I always give it my best effort). This easy-to-use guide can help you set up your very own fundraising web page. It also provides you with an email template to share with friends and family. In four simple steps, your Virtual Bake Sale can make a great contribution to Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry.
Need some inspiration? Check out this important video about the No Kid Hungry campaign. Just take a look at the faces of the children who need your help. I hope it wil inspire you to get together with family, friends and your community to host a bake sale and help provide meals for hungry children.
If you happen to be reading this post via e-mail you can also find the video here, http://bit.ly/118Tuai.
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I am sharing this information for the benefit of program and because I feel strongly about hunger here in our country. Any opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
Holly @ Woman Tribune says
I feel so strongly about supporting Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, and totally agree with what you have written about how hunger affects people in our own backyards. It is important to never assume that people are well off because of what you see on the outside.
I actually went through a phase in my life when I could not afford to feed myself. I was working two jobs, putting in as many hours as I possibly could, but because I was sick and had medical expenses and was paying for my apartment and all of my bills on my own, there was never enough money to cover everything, and food regularly ended up being the necessity that I could not afford to have, losing to keeping a roof over my head, the lights on, and the bill collectors happy. One of the kindest things that has ever been done for me was when a friend brought a bag of groceries to my house because she noticed that I had lost a lot of weight and was trying to find a third job. I will never forget that act of kindness, and the feeling of being so thankful that even though I hadn’t said anything to anyone, that someone in my life noticed that I was going through a hard time and did something to help. What was such a small gesture to her meant the world to me.