Central Iowans Come Together To Pray For Starving Children

Let The Church ARISE!

 

Meals from the Heartland volunteers and area churches are joining together on Saturday, August 28 at 7 p.m. to offer inter-denominational worship service. Join us as various leaders of community churches pray for hungry children and families around the world. The service will feature special performances and guests.

Where:

Lutheran Church of Hope
925 Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines

When:

Saturday, August 28, 2010 – 7 p.m.

Details:

Prayers & Messages by
Fr. Robert Hoefler, St. Francis of Assisi
Pastor Michael Hurst, Elim Christian Fellowship
Pastor Mike Housholder, Lutheran Church of Hope

Music & Dance by
Dance-A-Cross, Heartland Youth Chorus, John Cheatem, Jason Moore, Eileen O’Brien-Denner, Perry Ross

Special Guests
Mark Aeilts, Meals from the Heartland; Dr. Jim Blessman, Blessman Ministries/S.Africa; Larry Madole, Promise for Haiti Hospital; Eric Hanson, KCCI-TV

No cost to attend. Open to all ages.

VIDEO: Heartbreak, Hope, Haiti

This past week marked six months since an earthquake devastated Haiti. We’d like to share a special video we produced to tell the story of Haiti’s poverty and earthquake devastation as seen first-hand by our Mission Team in May. Almost every picture in this video was shot by one of our volunteers either here in Iowa or in Haiti. I hope it touches you and helps you to realize that we are making a difference.

VIDEO:

To volunteer to help with this year’s packaging event (September 2 – 5, 2010) please click on this link. If you would like to donate to help Meals from the Heartland please click here.

God Bless!

Starvation is real. People are suffering. And we can help.

Haiti Mission Trip / See KCCI-TV News reports this week – Meals from the Heartland!

A small group of Central Iowans representing Meals from the Heartland arrived back from their 6 day trip to Haiti at midnight this past Saturday. You can see stories of their experiences on KCCI News Channel 8 this Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Port au Prince, Haiti looked worse than a war zone with thousands of building collapsed. This capital city has an area of just 15 square miles with a dense population of well-over 2 million people (compared to the Des Moines with 75 square miles and population of 200,000). It was already the poorest city and country in the western hemisphere, and the earthquake caused damage beyond imagination. Tent cities and make-shift shacks for houses were everywhere.

The mission team also visited areas Grand Goâve and Pignon. Grand Goâve, a city 30 miles west of Port au Prince, was 90% destroyed by the earthquake. All public buildings were destroyed, including the schools, city hall, and police station. The team visited and stayed at Lifeline Christian Ministries, an organization that has been in Grand Goâve for 30 years, and is a leader in the community through its Christian outreach, school, medical clinic and food aid support. Pignon, located 57 miles north of Port au Prince in the northern central plateau of the country, is a city of some 30,000 people. There an organization supports a hospital, Christian school, builds housing and provides food aide support. More stories and details to follow…

To date Meals from the Heartland has shipped more than 6 million meals in food-aid assistance to Haiti, including over 2 million meals just since the January 12 earthquake and MftH’s “Help for Haiti” emergency relief efforts began. More than 500,000 more meals will be shipped in the next few days to further assist with relief efforts.

The Haitians are still afraid of what lies ahead as a result of the earthquake (there was a 4.5 tremor while the MftH group was there).  As expected, the need to support Haiti has increased as the first-wave of support has diminished.

All were humbled throughout the trip, and hearts broke many times.

While devastation and poverty was beyond imagination, there is HOPE!

Blessings,
Meals from the Heartland Team

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WATCH KCCI TV for mission trip coverage:

As many of you know, KCCI (channel 8 ) is the Meals from the Heartland media partner.  Reporter Eric Hanson and photojournalist Dan Bolsem accompanied the team on their trip.  Their report will be aired this Wednesday and Thursday at 10 p.m., as well as a special report airing on Friday night on a girls basketball clinic in Haiti held by Drake Basketball Coach Amy Stephens and Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield-Clubb.

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REMINDER: Meals from the Heartland Fall Event at Hy-Vee Hall:

Dates for this year’s event at Hy-Vee Hall are scheduled for September 2-5. Please consider supporting our fall event through praying, serving and giving. We especially need leaders in churches and businesses who can help raise money to fund food ingredients needed for this year. Please connect online at mealsfromtheheartland.org to learn more.  We will be opening our website for sign ups in late July, so please watch for more information.

Volunteers Pour In To Package Thousands of Meals For Haiti

The week-long Help for Haiti food packaging event started strong today with 1,227 volunteers showing up to package between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.! During the first four hours of packaging this morning, volunteers assembled 213,840 meals that will be shipped to Haiti’s earthquake victims.

WHO Radio’s Van and Bonnie show broadcast live from Lutheran Church of Hope during the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. shift while volunteers packaged the meals containing rice, vitamins, soy protein and dried vegetables.

More than 5,900 volunteers have registered to package meals throughout the week working toward our goal of packaging 2 million meals for Haitians. Originally, we were hoping to raise enough in donations to fund 300,000 meals. In just five weeks, individuals, churches, schools and businesses have raised enough funds to purchase the raw ingredients for volunteers to package as many as 2 million meals!

If you are still interested in volunteering, there are still open spots for host volunteers. Click here to learn more about host volunteering and available shifts.

We cannot thank you enough for all of your encouragement and support as we work to feed the hungry! God bless!

Help for Haiti Packaging Event 2-22-10

We are currently in the process of finalizing the details for the Help for Haiti packaging event scheduled to begin February 22, and are overwhelmed by the response of people who would like to help. Please remember, the number of meals we can package will depend completely on funding we receive until then.

The annual Meals from the Heartland event normally requires 9 months to a year to plan; we’re planning Help for Haiti in just 6 weeks. In that respect, we thank you for your patience while we fundraise, order food items, plan packaging shifts and coordinate volunteers. We understand that you feel the call to help, and we are doing all we can to create that opportunity.

We will soon be opening up registration for packaging volunteers, but in the meantime want to answer some of the most pressing questions about the event.

Online Registration:

Online registration will open Monday, February 8 for food packaging volunteers. If you would consider volunteering for a host or other volunteer positions (not packaging), online registration is now open (here).

Event:

The Help for Haiti packaging event will take place February 22-23 and 25-27. During that week we will package as many meals as possible.

Volunteering:

We will need volunteers to package meals, as well as host volunteers who are responsible for registering packagers, filling ingredients, etc. For more information about these positions, please click here.

Location:

Packaging will take place at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines. We are also exploring a second site for additional packaging, but will have more details later.

Training:

There will be two training sessions at Lutheran Church of Hope for all Host Positions:
In the Chapel on February 20th and 21st from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Shifts:

We are unsure at this point how many shifts will be available since we’re still taking donations and ordering supplies. However, we do know that shifts will be 1 hour so that we can provide the opportunity to package for as many people as possible.

NOTE: Unfortunately, we will not be to “hold” packaging slots or reserve tables for groups. If there is not enough space to accommodate your entire group, please remember that there will still be a need for help for the Meals from the Heartland annual packaging event, September 2-5 this year!

Mobile Packaging:

Meals from the Heartland now offers the opportunity to host on-site mobile packaging on a year-round basis. If you’re a church, school, business or another organization that has raised money and has the space to package, we’d be happy to work with you! To learn more about how to bring the mobile packaging unit to your location, please contact us at support@mealsfromtheheartland.org.

Donations/Fundraising:

If you are interested in donating to Meals from the Heartland, below are some ways you can help:

• Donate here online. Remember, one meal costs just 15 cents, so $50 feeds 333 hungry children
• Purchase your groceries at any Fareway store in Iowa and donate $1, $5 or $10 to go to Meals from the Heartland to package meals.
• Attend “Hearts for Haiti” this Friday, February 5, where all proceeds go toward packaging meals for Haiti. You can get more details here.
• If you have more fundraising ideas, please contact scott@mealsfromtheheartland.org.

We will continue to update this blog with information concerning the event as information becomes available to us. We are forever grateful for your interest and commitment to Meals from the Heartland and look forward to your help as we provide Help for Haiti.

Pray, Serve, Give,
The Meals from the Heartland Team

Help for Haiti – Details Coming Soon

We are in the process of finalizing the details for the February 22 Help for Haiti packaging event, and are overwhelmed and thankful for the outpouring of concern and interest in volunteering. We will soon be opening up registration for volunteers on the Web site. In the meantime, here is what we know:

* The Help for Haiti packaging event will take place during the week of February 22
* During that week we will package as many meals as funds allow
* Packaging will take place at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines
* Teams of 8-10 individuals will work in 1-hour shifts to package the meals
* Once completed, meals will be shipped to Haiti as soon as possible for those affected by the earthquakes

PLEASE REMEMBER: We are overjoyed with the overwhelming response of people who would like to volunteer. The number of meals packaged will depend completely on funding we receive until then. If you are interested in donating to Meals from the Heartland, below are some ways you can help:

* Donate here online. Remember, one meal costs just 15 cents, so $50 feeds 333 hungry children
* “Scan Away Hunger” and donate $1, $5 or $10 when you purchase your groceries at any Fareway store
* Attend “Hearts for Haiti” this Friday, February 5, where all proceeds go toward packaging meals for Haiti. You can get more details here.

We will continue to update the blog with information concerning the event as information becomes available to us. We are forever grateful for your interest and commitment to Meals from the Heartland and look forward to your help as we provide Help for Haiti.

Ways You Can Provide “Help for Haiti”

It’s been more than two weeks since devastating earthquakes hit Haiti. From the beginning, people everywhere began donating their time, money and resources to help toward the recovery. However, knowing where we started over a year ago, earthquake recovery is just the beginning. The people of Haiti still need our help today, tomorrow and in the future.

Meals from the Heartland has committed to help feed the poor any way we can, but we need your help. Please consider donating to Meals from the Heartland or another trusted organization. Below are some ways you can help make a difference with Meals from the Heartland.

* On February 5, “Hearts for Haiti,” a Valentine’s Day-themed benefit, will be held to raise money for Haiti earthquake victims. The event’s organizer, Olivia Ahlrichs, will donate all proceeds from the event to Meals from the Heartland. This money will go toward purchasing the supplies for packaging meals for Haiti. The benefit begins at 6 p.m. at the Copper Creek Golf Course Clubhouse, in Pleasant Hill.

“Hearts for Haiti” will feature a silent auction, light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, as well as entertainment by Mike Butterworth, lead singer for the Iowa-based band The Nadas, and Bonne Finken, fellow singer/songwriter. Valentine’s Day gifts in the form of chocolate covered strawberries, truffles and children’s tutu’s will be available for purchase and can be delivered to recipients on Valentine’s Day weekend. Tickets for “Hearts for Haiti” will be sold for $15 at the door on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also go here for more information.

* During the week of February 22, we will be partnering with Lutheran Church of Hope to hold a special Haiti food packaging event. While we are still in the process of organizing the event and will soon be asking for volunteers, please remember we can only package as much food as we have funding for, so donate today!

REMEMBER: Nearly $.95 of every $1 donated to Meals from the Heartland is applied directly to our mission. That $.95 is specifically connected to purchasing raw materials, assembling those materials into ready to eat food packages, and delivering those meals directly to those in need.

You can donate toward this cause here. We will package as many meals as we have funding for du

ring the event and all meals will immediately be shipped to Haiti.

Please consider donating your time and/or money to any of the above causes. The people of Haiti need our help now more than ever.

Thank you & God bless!

Community & Business Leaders Join to “Scan Away Hunger”

KCCI and Fareway have partnered with Meals from the Heartland to “Scan Away Hunger.” Starting immediately, when you purchase your groceries at any Fareway store you can ask for a card to be scanned that will allow you to donate $1, $5 or $10 toward the Help for Haiti efforts. We are grateful to have KCCI and Fareway helping us.

Help Provided By Iowa Meals…

We know that everyone is seeing and hearing heartbreaking stories through national media. Following are two stories of how the earthquake has impacted groups we support, and how Meals from the Heartland meals have been used to feed those in need.

Joy In Hope:

Following is an email received on Saturday night from a missionary with Joy In Hope, a non-profit organization dedicated solely to working in Haiti, that received some of the food we packaged last fall.

“My name is Leann Pye and I am a missionary living in Jacmel, Haiti.  In December we were given about 100 boxes of food from your organization.  We were planning on using it towards VBS and a soccer tournament we had planned. However, as you know, an earthquake devastated many parts of Haiti.  Jacmel is one town that has been hit hard. The road from Jacmel to Port-au-Prince is impassible with cars, tap-taps, and trucks. There are no supplies coming in and we don’t know when the road will be fixed. We have been able to feed hundreds of people daily since the earthquake because of your food. I can’t express my gratitude enough.  May God bless you and your ministry.”

In a separate email that followed, Leann wrote:

“Please communicate to your supporters that Jacmel is one area that has been greatly affected by your food. We don’t know where we would be without it. Thank you and God Bless!”

Food for the Poor:

Food for Poor, based in Miami, is one of the groups we partner with to place meals throughout the world. Leann Chong, a member of their staff that we have been working with, was in Haiti when the earthquake hit. She was trapped in her hotel for 17 hours before being rescued, but was able to return to Florida on Monday (with leg and other minor injuries).  The Food for the Poor warehouse and feeding center in Haiti was damaged, but reopened Monday and was able to serve over 20,000 meals on its first day. Due to damage of Haiti’s port, Food for the Poor is currently directing shipments to the Dominic Republic, and is transporting food to Haiti by land.

Please check back often for additional stories of how Meals from the Heartland’s efforts are helping!

Making a Difference in Haiti

Thanks to you, Meals from the Heartland is making a difference in the lives of many people currently struggling in Haiti. More than two million meals were shipped to Haiti after our fall packaging event, and they are feeding people every day. I hope that you will take a minute to read the stories in the following posts to see how meals packaged by Iowans are being used to feed starving Haitians.

We are in the process of organizing a special Haiti food packaging event to be held in February. Funds are currently being raised so we can order ingredients and supplies to package and ship as much food as possible. We’ve received overwhelming response from people hoping to package meals – but please remember the amount of meals we can package depends entirely on how much money we raise to purchase ingredients. To put it into perspective: a $50 contribution will provide 300 meals, or enough food for 10 children for one month!

We will soon begin asking volunteers to sign up for packaging planned to start on February 22 at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines, and possibly other locations. Please continue to monitor our Web site for further details. If you were a team lead last fall, we may not have all of your team members’ email addresses. Please feel free to forward this post on to your teammates who helped package or friends and family to help us spread the word.

God Bless!
The Meals from the Heartland Team

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