2011: The Future of Advocacy - End Childhood Hunger Embraces New Social Media Role
End Childhood Hunger, recognizing the incredibly important role that Social Media now plays in moving communities to action, and the even greater role it will play in the years to come, has committed to evolve from our initial focus as a grassroots organizing and local volunteer effort to embrace a new online advocacy voice. We are therefore committing our resources and efforts to growing our influence and impact across all internet platforms to further our mission to end childhood hunger. We will be expanding our presence and voice on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and our End Child Hunger Advocacy Blog to make a difference. Track our progress here, "Follow" us, "Like" us, and support out efforts. We'll do our best to keep you posted on our progress.
UPDATE: Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks to your support, we've done it! End Childhood Hunger exceeds 2,500 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on November 24, 2011. End Childhood Hunger's implementation of our 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!What is most gratifying to our volunteers is that this following was built by adding one concerned, committed hunger activist at a time, without the use of any "bots" or programs that indiscriminately search out "followers." Thank to each and every on of you that has taken the time to engage with us.
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 2,400 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on November 7, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 2,300 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on October 9 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 2,200 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on September 7, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 2,100 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on July 22, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: Thanks to your support, we've done it! End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 2,000 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on June 16, 2011. End Childhood Hunger's implementation of our 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!What is most gratifying to our volunteers is that this following was built by adding one concerned, committed hunger activist at a time, without the use of any "bots" or programs that indiscriminately search out "followers." Thank to each and every on of you that has taken the time to engage with us.
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,900 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on May6, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,800 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on April 6, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,700 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on March 15, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,600 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on February 11, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,500 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on January 26, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,400 Followers on Twitter! Milestone reached on January 4, 2011, End Childhood Hunger's implementation of 2011 social media engagement initiative results in dramatic increase in followers on Twitter!
End Childhood Hunger in the Community 2010
UPDATE: End Childhood Hunger Now Reaches Over 1,000 Followers on Twitter! On October 3, 2010, End Childhood Hunger breaks the 1,000 follower barrier on Twitter!
End Childhood Hunger Launches Real-time Interactive Blog at EndChildHungerBlog.Org! End Childhood Hunger has launched a blog site, theEnd Child Hunger Advocacy Center, to support their initiative to reach more people with more information in a more timely manner about the issues surrounding the crisis of childhood hunger in America.
In the year to come, nearly seventeen million children in America will go to bed each night facing hunger and food insecurity, not knowing if the new day will bring hope or hopelessness. We can fix this. This country has the food; we have the existing federal programs such as school breakfast, school lunch, after-school snacks, after-school dinners, summer meals, and nutrition education that, if utilized to their maximum potential, can put an end to childhood hunger.
We just need your support to change the world.
End Childhood Hunger reaches milestone with 800 followers on Twitter! On August 12, 2010, End Childhood Hunger (Twitter account EndChildHunger) recorded its 800th follower. As part of a early 2010 strategic realignment to place additional emphasis on providing real-time information and updates on the issue of childhood hunger in the United States to a broader audience and in a more timely manner, our volunteers have spent the last 8 months engaged across various social media platforms to get the word out. With over 1,264 "tweets" on Twitter, we are especially proud that we have gained these results literally one follower at a time - without the use of any programs or techniques that are available to gain "followers" without any direct engagement. Next up - an expansion of our You Tube nonprofit site!
"Twitter For Food" Spotlights End Childhood Hunger Efforts
A big thank you to Tim Blair for recently featuring End Childhood Hunger on his amazing web site, and for the incredible work he does to support those fighting hunger. His monthly "Twitter for Food" Campaign is simple and effective: Skip a meal on the first Tuesday of every month and donate the $'s you would have spent to your local food bank or anti-hunger organizations. He's selfless, tireless, and an inspiration to all of us. Check out the campaign here.
Here's the posting:
@endchildhunger and @mfarver are hunger heroes! You've got to check out the site End Childhood Hunger and take a look at all the great hunger relief information and see what Michael and the gang are doing!
Check out all their #twitterforfood badges also! Wow, it's been fun to have them helping to drive the #twitterforfood events every month!
It's only a couple weeks until the next #twitterforfood event which will also end the Summer Of Hunger here at twitterforfood.com. We've got fun things in store for the Fall, so stay tuned and as always, let Tim know at twitterforfood@gmail.com if you have a post you'd like to add here or an event you'd like to promote!
Simply,
Tim
End Childhood Hunger President Addresses Rotary Club
Michael Farver, President of End Childhood Hunger, spoke to approximately 70 members of the John Knox Village Rotary Club on August 11th on the issue of ending childhood hunger in the United States by 2015. He covered the challenges and issues that exist at the local, state and federal levels, progress being made by the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, and shared with the audience information on the current Congressional debate over legislative approval of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. He also provided a number of disturbing statistics: (1) On any given night, 17 million children in America go to bed at night facing hunger and food insecurity, wondering if the new day will bring them hope, or hopelessness. More than 250,000 of these children are in South Florida. (2) Of the 609,000 people in Florida living under the poverty level, 214,000 are children. (3) One in every four people standing in a soup line seeking food is a child. Michael, the volunteers and supporters of End Childhood Hunger are grateful for the opportunity to conduct such positive outreach in the community, and thank the John Knox Village Rotary for the opportunity to share an evening together.
End Childhood Hunger returns to Tallahassee During "Children's Week."
Michael Farver, President, spent April 11-14 in Tallahassee, working again with the the State's leading anti-hunger public policy advocacy group, Florida Impact. As the new President of Florida Impact's Board, Michael and staff members directly lobbied South Florida Senators and Representatives on child nutrition issues. They also supported the efforts of a broad coalition of hunger and poverty advocacy groups supporting KidCare, health care for low-income Floridians, increases in the food stamp, summer nutrition, after school snack and other nutrition programs which were being addressed in the Senate and House of Representatives. He also again participated in a day of legislative training and a march on the Capitol, organized by the Florida Conference of United Methodist Churches.
End Childhood Hunger in Washington, D.C. March 5-9, 2010 Michael Farver, President of End Childhood Hunger and the President of the Board of Directors of Florida Impact,
Florida's leading public policy hunger advocacy group, joined over a
dozen other Florida hunger activists for the 2010 National Anti-Hunger
Policy Conference, co-presented by FRAC (Food Resource and Action Center) and Feeding America, along with the National CACFP Forum (Child and Adult Care Food Program).
Nearly
500 grassroots anti-hunger and anti-poverty advocates, food banks,
nutrition groups, agricultural supporters, education organizations and
others spent three days participating in innovative training,
networking and advocacy around the issues of hunger in America.
Michael and other members of the Florida contingent spent Tuesday, March 9th, meeting directly with members of Florida's Congressional Delegation and members of each representative's staff on Capital Hill to support and lobby the members for action on reauthorizing the expanded 2010 Child Nutrition Act, as well as House Resolution 3321, which would expand the Federal After-School Meals Program to Florida and other presently unsupported States.
To track the progress and obtain updates on the multiple bills and amendments connected to the 2010 Child Nutrition Re-authorization Act, click here.
For information on H. R. 3321, which provides for expansion of the after-school meals program, click here.
End Childhood Hunger actively participated in the second annual Tweetsgiving in the days leading up to the Thanksgiving Holiday. This celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. End Childhood Hunger staff and volunteers participated in blog postings, Twitter messages, Facebook messages, YouTube videos, etc. as part of the international effort, in addition to donating funds to the cause across each social media platform. We hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful. Although the event has officially concluded, you can still make a donation directly from the PayPal link, left.
Videos of the Service Project at Capital Area Food Bank to come!
Share Our Strength's 25th Anniversary Conference of Leaders in Washington, D.C. End Childhood Hunger representatives spent four days in early November gathering with over 350 hunger activists from across the nation to discuss the organization's commitment to ending childhood hunger in the United States by the year 2015. Amazing and inspiring speakers, training sessions and a fantastic day of service with hundreds participating in a "gleaning" project at a local farm, the beautification and landscaping of a local school and the sorting over 700 boxes of food and putting together an equal number of food "care packages" for delivery for the Capital Area Food Bank.
2009 Gold Medal Wine Tour Dinner @ Chef Allen's: This special evening
benefited End Childhood Hunger, and featured a "Sparkling Reception"
and a four-course dinner that showcased the masterful culinary
creations of Chef Allen Susser, perfectly paired with the winning wines of the
2008 American Fine Wine Competition. Presented by Patriot Risk
Management, the event raised funds to support our efforts to assist
small, local groups fighting hunger at the street level and making a
difference in South Florida. Our thanks to everyone!
The Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger Doubles Federal Summer Meals for Children in Orlando Area: End Childhood Hunger works closely with the Florida Partnership to End Childhood Hunger, a statewide pilot project of Florida Impact, Share Our Strength, and FRAC. We are members of the South Florida Steering Committee of the project, and are working on activities targeting greater utilization of federal nutritional funds in South Florida. In
this recent project, the Orange and Osceola school districts, the City
of Orlando, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and marketing
partners Publix Super Markets, the Orlando Magic, and the Florida Dairy
Farmers successfully brought more federal Summer Food Service Program
dollars to children in need. The total in federal funds used to feed
the area’s children for just the first two months of summer is over
$1.8 million—including more than $764,000 additional dollars (or a 68%
hike) over last year. An estimated 4,500 more children were served meals through the federal nutrition program in 2009—a 66 percent increase. In Orange County alone, this translated into at least 315,000 additional meals so far—which more than doubles the number of meals served in all of 2008. You can download the Press Release detailing the results, released September 8, 2009, in Word format or as a PDF here.
RNI Monthly Networking
featured End Childhood Hunger at their event at The Capital Grill in
Boca Raton on August 13th. End Childhood Hunger President Michael Farver and board
member Susan Farver attended. A special thanks to Shana Overhaulser,
one of our strongest supporters, for organizing the event.
In June, Lola’s on Harrison Restaurant in
Hollywood more than lived up to its reputation as the Best New
Restaurant in South Broward with another 2009 Gold Medal Wine Tour
Dinner to benefit End Childhood Hunger. Owner/Chef Michael Wagner and
staff dazzled with a menu that included Goat Cheese Stuffed Figs, Ruby
Red Trout, Mocha Crusted Braised Buffalo Short Ribs and Fresh
Blackberry Pie.
End Childhood Hunger purchased and distributed 750 Personal Hygiene kits and over 1500 bars of soap
to Love thy Neighbor for use by the growing population of homeless men,
women & children in Broward County. Special thanks to Cambro
Manufacturing Company and Regional Manager Peter M. Galiette for their
assistance in obtaining the items at a reduced cost.
Cucina d'Angelo Dinner, Boca Raton, The April kick-off event of the 2009 Gold Medal Wine Tour Dinner Series,
presented by Patriot Risk Management / Guarantee Insurance
Company, featured an over-the-top "Sparkling Reception" and a
four-course dinner that matched the masterful culinary creations of
Chef Angelo Morinell with the winners of the 2008 American Fine Wine
Competition. The event garnered rave reviews from attendees and the
press. Thanks for the story, Jana!
End Childhood Hunger lobbies in Tallahassee.
Michael Farver, President, spent March 29 -31 in Tallahassee working
with the public policy advocacy group Florida Impact, directly lobbying
South Florida Senators and Representatives on child nutrition issues,
and working with a broad coalition of hunger and poverty advocacy
groups to speak in support of KidCare, health care for low-income
Floridians, increases in the food stamp, summer nutrition, after school
snack and other nutrition programs being addressed in the Senate and
House of Representatives. He also participated in a day of legislative
training and a march on the Capitol, organized by the Florida
Conference of United Methodist Churches, and testified before a
congressional committee.
In mid-March, End Childhood Hunger underwrote a Bowling and Pizza event at a local bowling alley in Wilton Manors in partnership with Forever Families, local NBC affiliate WTVJ Channel 6, and Bella's Kids
to support and entertain a group of nearly 75 dependent and foster
children who are being raised by extended family members. Check out the
Video.
