Organization works to stamp out hunger in the U.P.
COPPER COUNTRY — As part of Giving Tuesday, a new effort is underway to stamp out hunger in the Keweenaw. Here’s ABC 10’s Keweenaw Bureau Reporter Rick Allen.
Hunger is a continuing problem in the Copper Country. Stop the Roar of Hunger is a new initiative from the Portage Health Foundation (PHF) to raise awareness and funds to help fight this problem.
Recent statistics show that the need cannot be understated.
PHF Fund Development Assistant Chelsea Goodreau said, “About 50–60 percent of the kids in our local schools are able to apply for free to reduced prices in lunches. About 50 percent of our families in our local communities are used food banks for their food sources. And those are staggering numbers for us and we’d like to try to start doing something about it.”
The goal is to raise $50,000 by their Spring Gala in May. Organizations will then be able to apply for funds for various hunger–related projects.
It’s no coincidence that the campaign was launched on what has become known as Giving Tuesday.
Goodreau said, “We thought that it would be a really good launch to our fundraising efforts. It would give us about six months worth of awareness and fundraising time span and it’s a global fundraising event and we wanted to be a part of something bigger as well.”
Donations can be made through the Portage Health Foundation website, http://www.phfgive.org/