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FEED THE CHILDREN CONTINUES ‘AMERICANS FEEDING AMERICANS EMERGENCY CARAVAN’ IN CHICAGO
2,400 Families to Receive Food and Supplies
Chicago, Ill. (May 7, 2009) –Feed The Children’s next stop on the “Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan” will be in Chicago to help sustain 2,400 families in need.
Six tractor-trailers filled with food and personal care items will be distributed on Saturday, May 9. The distribution will begin following a press conference at 10 a.m. at Life Changers Church, located at 2500 Beverly Rd in Hoffman Estates, IL. It was recently reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics that 9 percent of Cook County residents are unemployed.
Pastor Gregory Dickow, founder of the Chicago-based Life Changers International Church, was so moved by Feed The Children’s Caravan helping Americans in need that he decided to host this food distribution. Life Changers International Church is a Feed The Children partner agency who will provide a box of food and a box of personal care items and other necessities to recipients. The boxes are designed to help supplement a family for up to one week.
Additional funds to make the event possible were provided through radiothons held by station WIND.
“Feed The Children is committed to helping as many families as possible who are affected by this United States economic crisis,” said Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed The Children. “We send a special ‘thank you’ to everyone who is bringing help and hope to these struggling families. We will continue to keep them in our prayers.”
Chicago is the fifth of many cities on the “Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan” food distribution tour from Feed The Children.
To date, over 17,000 families have been helped by the emergency caravan. Last month, Feed The Children delivered 4,000 food and personal care boxes to 4,000 recently laid off hotel and restaurant employees affected by the drop in tourism in New York. Also in April, 2,000 food and personal care boxes were delivered to residents in Greenville, Mississippi. In February, Feed The Children delivered 13 semi tractor-trailers filled with food and personal care items to help sustain 5,200 families in Elkhart, Indiana. The city has been hit hard by the deteriorating RV industry. On Feb. 19, Feed The Children delivered food and personal care items to help sustain 6,000 families in Wilmington, Ohio. The closing of a DHL plant affected one in three families in Wilmington.
Crocs, Inc. and Soles United have donated new shoes to be distributed to recipient families. Crocs, Inc. and Soles United are long time partners of Feed The Children.
Avon Products, Inc®. has donated gift bags filled with Avon products and gift items to recipient families. Avon Products, Inc. has been a long time partner of Feed The Children.
Long-time Feed The Children partner STAR Touring & Riding Association, the only officially recognized Star Motorcycle owners group, will have members on hand to assist with the distribution.
About Feed The Children
Founded in 1979 by Larry and Frances Jones, Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10 largest international charities in the U.S., based on private, non-government support. Feed The Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty or natural disasters. In FY 2007, Feed The Children distributed more than 135 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and internationally, supplementing almost 800,000 meals each day. For more information, please visit www.feedthechildren.org.
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