|
|  PICKING
UP AFTER WILMA…
The month of October will be remembered for the destruction of hurricane
Wilma, which finally hit Broward County as a devastating category 2 storm on Monday,
October 21st. When I came to The Cooperative Feeding Program's center the following
morning I saw extensive roof damage to the warehouse but there were no people.
Sandbagging of all doors before the storm prevented any rain damage.
I
returned early on Thursday the 24th and together with several staff members who
were able to make it in despite the scarcity of gasoline, no public transport
and facing challenges of their own with damaged homes. We prepared a hot meal
in the dark over the gas stove in the kitchen for a grateful 100+ hungry souls
who had weathered the storm and walked several miles to our center. We did the
same on Friday for about 130+ people and also handed out bagged food to a score
of families who had lost everything including, in some cases, the strength to
go on. One Hispanic lady arrived on foot with her four young children in tow and
simply broke down and cried when we gave her two bags of food. Desperation - especially
when you have children to feed - is overwhelming and gratitude is spoken eloquently
through falling tears.
Electricity was restored to The Cooperative Feeding
Program late Friday afternoon, but not soon enough to save thousands of dollars
of frozen food that had thawed and spoiled. With so much need, it was heartbreaking
to throw dozens of boxes of food away from the freezers. Ground beef, fish, chicken
- all the good food we had tried to store for the upcoming holiday season when
demand for our services increases and we try to prepare something special.
Our
warehouse roof has not yet leaked, but it has not rained yet either. Thanksgiving
will be particularly poignant this year as we realize that despite all our material
losses, we are still alive.
Your help and support is so important to us
in picking up the pieces after Wilma. If you can, please help us. www.FeedingBroward.org/donate
Marti
Forman
CEO
 IT'S
TIME TO GIVE THANKS…
There are thousands of homeless people in Broward
County who have nowhere to go this Thanksgiving. Many of these people live as
homeless families in abandoned cars, or alone under bridges or in parks.
They
are not bums, they are not lazy. They need a hand out - a hand out of poverty.
It's tough to think about the future when your stomach aches so badly because
it is empty. Some homeless people have fallen into the trap of addictions but
turned to drugs or alcohol in an effort to numb the pain of childhood neglect
or abuse, or because of post trauma stress disorder (PTSD).
But they are
human beings and they are alone this Thanksgiving.
The Cooperative
Feeding Program, a lead agency in the fight against hunger in Broward County,
will be open every day this Thanksgiving month, including November 24th and we
will serve tens of thousands of meals to people who are hungry and often alone.
We want to offer them a Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings this special
time of year.
To do this though, we need your help.
A $
50 donation will provide 25 hot meals this Thanksgiving month
A $ 100 donation
will provide emergency food to five families
A $ 500 donation will provide
a Thanksgiving meal to 250 people
A $ 1,000 will buy us a van load of food
for emergencies
A $ 10,000 donation will name a room after you and your family
in our building and help us pay off our mortgage.
Be thankful. Turn gratitude
into sharing. Be generous. www.FeedingBroward.org/donate.
|
|
|  AL
CAPONE AND BUGSY LEAVE $ 52,000 FOR THE HUNGRY
The Cooperative Feeding
Program's successful SpeakEasy extravaganza at The Signature Grand on October
8th successfully raised more than $ 52,000 for the agency's fight against hunger
and homelessness in Broward County.
Filled with more than 250 flappers
and Al Capone look a-likes at this year's 4th annual 1920's era SpeakEasy, the
"goodwill gangsters" included honorees Andy Cagnetta of Trans World Business Brokers,
Ann Hendrix of Publix Super Markets and Jack Appel from the Edward W. Smith, Jr.
Foundation.
The Cooperative Feeding Program is experiencing an increase
in the number of Gulf state evacuees asking for emergency food. According to Marti
Forman, the agency's CEO who spoke at the gala event, the organization faces "a
challenging year" ahead in trying to alleviate hunger in our county.
|
|
MARK
YOUR CALENDARS
| JEN
CHAPIN BENEFIT CONCERT
On November 17th, 2005 Singer Jen Chapin in
concert at the Broward Community Center in Ft. Lauderdale, to benefit The Cooperative
Feeding Program and the "Artists Against Hunger & Poverty Program" of World Hunger
Year - a charity founded by the late Harry Chapin, father of the featured performer.
Tickets $ 24.50 and are available at www.browardcenter.org
|
|
HUNGER
NEWS
| NEW
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR ANNOUNCED
After 18 months as The Cooperative
Feeding Program's star Volunteer Coordinator, Hal Nolan is passing the baton,
wanting to spend more time with his 93 year-old mother in Pensacola. The Cooperative
Feeding Program is so very grateful for the tremendous caring and dedication Hal
has shown to the agency and those we serve during the past 12 years. Although
retiring as coordinator at the end of November, Hal will continue to help out
in the serving line as he has done for more than a decade.
We are pleased
to announce that as of December 1st, 2005, our new Volunteer Coordinator will
be Laura Heshmaty, another wonderful volunteer from Coral Springs who has been
serving the hungry through The Cooperative Feeding Program since 1999. Laura can
be reached at Laura@FeedingBroward.org
"I have enjoyed knowing and working with the most wonderful and dedicated
group of people that I have ever been associated with," reflected Hal Brown. "I
have been volunteering for more than forty years and was President of United Cerebral
Palsy Association in Washington, D.C. At that time, I worked with literally thousands
of volunteers around the country, so you can see how special I believe our CFP
volunteers to be."
Earn
Double American Express Bonus Points by Donating to The Cooperative Feeding Program
Through December 31st, 2005, donate to The Cooperative Feeding Program
through the American Express Donation Site and earn double Membership Reward Points
for every dollar you donate with an eligible, enrolled American Express card.
To make a donation, go to
www.americanexpress.com/give
Donation of Membership Rewards points
are not tax deductible. Bonus Points will be credited to your Membership Rewards
account 6-8 weeks after charges appear on your billing statement. 25,000 maximum
bonus points per account. Bonus ID: 5459.
HOLY
CROSS HOSPITAL AND WINN DIXIE HOLD FOOD DRIVE
Holy Cross Hospital,
celebrating its 50th anniversary, will launch its "Bag Hunger Food Drive" on Thurs.
Nov. 17 together with the generous support of Winn-Dixie supermarkets in benefit
of those served by The Cooperative Feeding Program.
Six Broward Winn-Dixie
stores have been designated to collect food from Nov. 17th through Dec. 17th.:
- Winn Dixie at
1700 E. Commercial Blvd. "
- Winn
Dixie at 3800 N. Ocean Blvd.
- Winn
Dixie at 2420 N. Federal Hwy.
- Winn
Dixie at 1199 S. Federal Hwy.
- Winn
Dixie at 680 N. Federal Hwy.
- Winn
Dixie at 277 S. Pompano Parkwa
VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED FOR GALLERIA MALL
The
Cooperative Feeding Program will benefit from the Holy Cross Hospital's "Bag Hunger"
campaign, in celebration of the hospital's 50th anniversary. Shoppers at The Galleria
Mall in Ft Lauderdale (2414 East Sunrise Blvd.) will have the opportunity to select
and support a family in need from the Holiday Tree of Life. Located in the mall's
Palm Court lower level, the holiday tree will be adorned with decorative hangers,
each one with the name of a needy family. Shoppers can select one and offer a
monetary contribution to The Cooperative Feeding Program. This giving opportunity
is available from Friday, Nov. 25 through Tues. Dec. 20th from 10am through 10pm.
We need A LOT of volunteers to help PLEASE! If you can sign up to help for a few
hours or more, please contact Dorothy at (954) 792-2328 or Dorothy@FeedingBroward.org
| |
Your
Friends at The Cooperative Feeding Program
1 NW 33rd Terrace · Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311
954-792-2EAT
www.FeedingBroward.org
| |
| |
You
are receiving this email because you have requested to receive the monthly newsletter
from Cooperative Feeding Program when you signed up on {Date}. If you would like
to remove yourself from this list, please click
here. If you still have questions or concerns regarding our privacy policy,
please email us by clicking on the related link below or write us at: Equilibrix,
1707 Whitehall Drive Suite 403, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33324 http://www.equilibrix.com/privacy.html
| |
