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Notes from the President
Gary Schmidt did a wonderful job last week announcing our annual Temple College Scholars.Congratulations to all of them and Thank you for doing such a good job picking the candidates!
Joshua Huckabee
Lisa Miller
Zulema Castillo
Jeremy Griffin
Alicia Marek
Erika Morgan
And we have designated 4 of these scholarships to recognize past club members or extraordinary contributions to the scholarship fund, as identified below:
Huckabee - Jackie Gidden Scholarship
Miller - Ross Hale Scholarship
Castillo - John B Daniel Jr Scholarship
Griffin - Charles B Caughlin Jr Scholarship
Marek - Temple Rotary Scholarship
Morgan - Temple Rotary Scholarship
Last Weeks Program - By Gail Peek
Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas
Rotarian of the Day, David Yeilding, introduced us to Lamar Eidson. Mr. Eidson is one of the founders of Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas. Mr. Eidson graduated from Temple High School. He was a pilot in the United States Air Force as well as a commercial pilot for American Airlines. He retired from American Airlines in 2008 and returned to Temple. He, his wife, Judy, his sister and brother-in-law are the heart and soul of Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas which was started in 2009.
Mr. Eidson began his presentation explaining that world hunger is perhaps the most “un” or “under” reported cases of human suffering in the world today. One out of six people in the world lives with life-threatening hunger each and every day. The most vulnerable of these cases involves children because their hunger and malnutrition is more likely to result in death. UNICEF estimated that in 2008 alone approximately 8.8 million children under the age of 5 died of starvation or opportunistic diseases that their bodies could not fend off (e.g., measles or pneumonia). While most of these at-risk children are in South Asia, and Central and Sub-Saharan Africa, about 20% of them are in the Western Hemisphere, especially Haiti.
The founder of Kids Against Hunger, Richard Proudfit, refused to turn away from this seemingly daunting challenge. He truly became a man with a mission. In 1979 he created Kids Against Hunger with the goal of providing meals to starving children worldwide. This goal is simple to state, but difficult to implement. The first foray into feeding the malnourished resulted in children becoming ill.
Lesson #1 – You must get the proper kind and amount of nutrition into a person who is starving. Their bodies cannot immediately digest common foods.
Lesson #2 – All malnutrition is not the same globally. Nutrition must be tailored to the particular conditions of the geographic location and any religious/dietary restrictions.
Lesson #3 – A purpose that is borne of the right process and right goals will be supported.
And so began a three-year odyssey working with Cargill, Pillsbury and General Foods, to create several formulas of basic nutritious meals that could be blended with local foods to save the lives of starving children. Kids Against Hunger also learned that pregnant women who ate the specially-formulated meals had healthier children. For example, in some cases birth weights increased from an average of 3 pounds to an average of 5 pounds. The saying at Kids Against Hunger is “a sound body leads to a sound mind.”
Lesson #3 is embodied in the beauty and simplicity of Kids Against Hunger. Volunteers meet for a “packaging event.” There are usually four assembly lines of people with hair nets, measuring cups and a lot of enthusiasm. David Yeilding was quick to point out that a full head of hair is not a requirement, but the hair net is a must! In about 3 hours volunteers at a packaging event can prepare between 15,000 and 25,000 meals. Judy Eidson pointed out that packaging events are work for a good cause but you also have a lot of fun. In 2009, Kids Against Hunger had 73 satellite locations that provided 48 million meals to children in 42 countries!
Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas has partnered with Hope for the Hungry in Belton. Hope for the Hungry has a long history of helping those in need in Haiti. Hope for the Hungry will cover the costs of transporting the packaged meals to Haiti. This collaboration alone has reduced the cost of the meals provided by Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas from $.23 a meal to $.16 a meal. At this rate, 600 children can be fed meals for about $1.00. Currently Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas has stockpiled 171,000 packaged meals to be shipped to Haiti.
Mr. Eidson explained that about 90% of all donations to Kids Against Hunger goes to purchasing foods to be packaged. The rest of the donation covers overhead and shipping costs. That percentage reflects an extremely efficient charitable organization. The parent organization requires that at least 80% of meals be sent to children in foreign countries. The remaining 15% to 20% is to be held in reserve for local needs. Kids Against Hunger provided a million meals to children affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Mr. Eidson concluded with an invitation to participate in the next packaging event. These events are held at space near the former Ancira RV space in the mall abutting I-35. The events are usually held on a Saturday morning or on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. In addition, funds are needed to purchase supplies. Donations and inquiries can be directed to: Kids Against Hunger of Central Texas, P.O. Box 143, Temple, TX 76503, (254) 780-2512 or contact Mr. Eidson at lamareidson@sbcglobal.net.
District 5870 Information
The February, 2010 District Newsletter is currently posted on the District Website. The link to the district newsletter is http://www.rotary5870.com/Newsletter.cfm
Scheduled Programs for May & June
Please let me know if you have a program you would like to share and we will book them.
June 3 - Fede - Argentina Exchange Student
June 10 - Sheri Givens - Texas Public Utility Council
June 17 - John Bandas Program - Vocational Award
June 24 - Rotary Assembly
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