On February 21, students from Emmanuel–St. Michael Lutheran School visited Lutheran South Unity School, where students from both schools packaged more than 36,000 meals for hungry children in the Philippines. The event was in support of Kids Against Hunger, a national organization that has a local chapter in Fort Wayne. With donations from church congregations and individual donors and through special events, chapel offerings, and funds earmarked for service learning, the students raised more than $6,600 to support the effort. Special events at Lutheran South Unity School included the ongoing sale of hot chocolate and a "Hunger Games" lock-in event and subsequent pancake breakfast attended by parents and other congregation members.
During the food-packaging event, the students worked at seven different stations during two shifts to meet their goal. Lutheran South Unity School students in kindergarten through the third grade made an additional contribution by designing and affixing labels bearing messages proclaiming Jesus' love."It was wonderful to see the kids from the two schools working joyfully together with such gusto and enthusiasm," says Lutheran South Unity School Principal Krista Nagy. "Many of our students at Lutheran South Unity School come to school hungry. In fact, 50 to 60 percent of them eat breakfast here, and approximately 70 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunches, so this was an example of kids from lower-income families doing what they could to help feed poor children half-way around the world.
"Our students are involved in a number of activities that benefit people in our community and people in other countries," Krista adds. "It's one of our goals to have out kids think beyond Fort Wayne and to appreciate their obligation to serve people around the world. That goal is emblematic of how Lutheran schools approach education."Other area Lutheran schools are also involved with Kids Against Hunger. St. Paul’s Lutheran School has completed a packaging event, while Wyneken Lutheran School and Concordia Lutheran High School have planned upcoming events on April 11. Students from all of The Lutheran Schools will be participating in the upcoming packaging events.
The mission of the Kids Against Hunger national network is to significantly reduce the number of hungry children in the United States and to feed starving children throughout the world. The organization’s approach to achieving its goal—the eradication of world hunger—includes the packaging of a highly nutritious, vitamin-fortified soy-rice casserole by volunteers at numerous locations within the United States and Canada, and the distribution of those meals to starving children and their families in more than 60 countries through partnerships with humanitarian organizations worldwide. In 2009 alone, volunteers at Kids Against Hunger’s food-packaging centers across the United States packed more than 48 million meals for children and their families just around the corner and around the world.
