This Halloween you will likely see a TV ad for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, one of the most popular and yummy candies. But when you see it, think of another peanut product instead. This one is called Plumpy’Nut.
Like the Reese’s Peanut Butter cup, it comes in a small wrapping. Some have said that Plumpy’Nut tastes a bit like a Reese’s cup. But what Plumpy’Nut does is a miracle, it saves the lives of starving children worldwide.
See my full commentary in the Harrisburg Patriot News:
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When Halloween came around in 1960 John F. Kennedy, while campaigning for president, came across a unique trick or treat event. This ghoulish party was not about collecting candy but instead raising money for the UN agency fighting child hunger and disease-UNICEF.
JFK loved it! Kennedy remarked at a shopping plaza in Willow Grove where the UNICEF party took place, “I think that is in the best tradition of this country’s humane and sympathetic effort.” Kennedy continued speaking about fighting hunger and disease in his short speech.
In fact, when JFK became president he even issued a statement from the White House in support of Halloween trick or treat for UNICEF. Kennedy said “UNICEF has caught the imagination of our people–especially our nation’s children whose Halloween collections have become a symbol of concern and an expression of tangible aid.”
See my full commentary at The History News Network:
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Sandy Berger, the former national security advisor to President Bill Clinton, passed away today at age 70. Berger was suffering from cancer.
Yesterday, Berger had been presented by the World Food Program USA with its inaugural Global Humanitarian Award. Berger had been a leader in helping the organization advocate for world hunger relief.
Rick Leach, President and CEO of World Food Program USA, said yesterday, “We are honoring one of America’s most devoted and influential humanitarian champions. On behalf of WFP USA, Sandy has been our principal voice in advocating that the U.S. and the world respond effectively to the greatest humanitarian challenge of our generation.”
Berger had served as the Treasurer/Secretary of WFP USA’s Board of Directors and as a member of its Executive Committee and Public Policy Working Group. His work closely integrated national security and fighting world hunger. He believed that feeding the hungry should be a top national security priority.
In an article at Foreignpolicy.com earlier this year, Berger wrote, “the presence of hunger and homelessness in large numbers weakens the grip of central authority, creating open spaces and desperate people for Islamic extremists and other militants to exploit.”
He served most recently as a Chair of the Albright Stonebridge Group. The World Food Program USA said today “Those who suffer from hunger, those in need around the world, directly benefited from the life of Sandy Berger. For much of his career, Sandy worked as a statesman dedicated to building peace.”
You can read the World Food Program USA’s full statement on Sandy Berger here.
Read the full article at Examiner.
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The food Plumpy’Nut is desperately needed for hungry children in northern Syria, according to a new report released by the United Nations.
Read the update at Examiner:
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We, the international community, must speak out for the people left starving by Syria’s civil war. All across Syria, civilians are routinely being blocked from receiving the food needed to survive. The world cannot turn its back on these innocent war victims.
One scene of this ongoing tragedy in Syria is Yarmouk and the nearby towns of Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham. They all need life-saving food right away. Years of civil war has ruined food supplies for this area.
Read the full article at The Huffington Post.
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When a UN World Food Programme (WFP) vessel recently docked in Aden, Yemen it came with a life-saving food item for children. The war in Yemen has placed children at risk of deadly malnutrition.
Read the full article at Examiner.
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Last month on the Huffington Post I wrote a feature on a unique St. Patrick’s Day celebration started by University of Rhode Island students. Their idea was to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but to use the event to feed malnourished children across the globe.
The students, (Sergio Suhett ’15, Kylie Rice ’15, David St. Amant ’16, Kimberly DeLande ’15), called the event Make Your Green Count. They teamed up with Edesia, a non-profit in Providence which produces Plumpy’Nut.
The Plumpy’Nut is a vitamin enriched peanut paste used to treat children suffering from malnutrition. Children in disaster or poverty areas, or war zones, often cannot access food. This tragedy unfolds every day across the globe.
Plumpy’Nut is used to rescue these children from malnutrition, which can cause lasting physical or mental damage, or death. The Plumpy’Nut is a life-saver for children in developing countries.
The fundraising by the URI students, which goes to Edesia, so far has raised close to $5,000. According to Edesia, that is enough to feed 85 children the life-saving treatment of Plumpy’Nut.
The Make Your Green Count fundraising page is at Crowdrise. They are still accepting donations.
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Read the article at Examiner.
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Last week I wrote a feature on the Huffington Post about some amazing University of Rhode Island students and their St. Patrick’s Day Plumpy’Nut Challenge. Remembering the Irish history of the famine the students are determined that no child should starve from malnutrition.
So far they have raised $3,385 to purchase life-saving Plumpy’Nut to feed malnourished children. All this with a week to go until the big day!
Donors include a Rhode Island business called Tara’s Tipperary Tavern. The mother of URI student Kylie Rice has raised $395 dollars for the campaign her daughter is helping to lead. The Big Thinkers organization at URI has contributed $275 to the cause.
You can donate at their fundraising page on Crowdrise. The donations go to Edesia, a Providence-based company that produces Plumpy’Nut and other foods that save children from the deadly malnutrition.
This is a vital campaign for raising funds and educating everyone about the child hunger crisis that exists globally. In lands far away children starve on a daily basis. That must be unacceptable in a world where there is plenty of food for everyone.
The Plumpy’Nut Challenge runs through St. Patrick’s Day. You can learn more about the campaign at the Make Your Green Count Facebook page.
Read the full article at Examiner.
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We all remember the Ice Bucket Challenge from last summer and its amazing success, raising money for research to cure ALS. What if that same spirit could be used to save children from starvation around the world?
Read the full article at The Huffington Post.
Filed under global hunger
St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. But before you get your green on, check out what students at the University of Rhode Island are doing.
They have already started a unique celebration for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day, one they hope will change the world. They want everyone to join them.
It’s called the MakeYourGreenCount Plumpy’Nut Challenge. The URI students have teamed up with Edesia, a Providence-based company that produces foods which fight child malnutrition. These foods include Plumpy’Nut, a peanut paste used by aid agencies worldwide to treat potentially deadly malnutrition.
Edesia has also recently produced Plumpy’Doz, a food distributed by the World Food Programme in war-torn Syria. The MakeYourGreenCount challenge asks people to donate $5 to Edesia by St. Patrick’s Day and get 10 friends to do the same. Heidi Reed, a spokesperson for Edesia, says,
Donations always have impact on our work, no matter the time of year. They help us reduce our costs so that we can reach more children with each order. We are also raising funds to build our new factory in North Kingstown, which will help us reach 2 million malnourished children each year.”
I recently interviewed the URI team of students about the MakeYourGreen Count PlumpyNut Challenge.
How did you first learn about Plumpy’Nut and what it does?
We toured Edesia, the U.S. nonprofit producer of Plumpy’Nut, after being recruited to work on the #MakeYourGreenCount social media challenge campaign, as part of a project-based learning project at the University of Rhode Island (URI). After seeing their operation, and learning that life-saving Plumpy’Nut is endorsed by humanitarian aid workers as a “miracle cure” for severe malnutrition, we came away determined to help. We’re impressed that Plumpy’Nut can save a child’s life in just 7 weeks, and that through their humanitarian partners, Edesia has a global reach of 800,000 children annually. Our public relations major focuses on business engagement and hands-on learning, and often this is combined with community service. This seemed like an ideal project and it’s timely— as Edesia prepares to break ground for a new and bigger factory in March of this year. They’re a growing social enterprise that is creating U.S. jobs, and we’re proud to support them.
What gave you the idea of a social media campaign to spread the word about Plumpy’Nut?
#MakeYourGreenCount is the brainchild of Kate O’Malley, an editor in publications and creative services at URI, who reached out to Regina Bell of the Harrington School of Communications and Media at URI to collaborate with students. Social media is a powerful and fast means of sharing information and reaching donors. Effective campaigns deliver their message in a clever way, often engaging the public about very serious issues using humor and fun. A St. Patrick’s Day theme seemed a perfect fit. The campaign name, #MakeYourGreenCount, plays off of the “getting your green on” associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and the idea of making your green – your money – count for something important: helping to fight acute childhood malnutrition. And for those familiar with the history of the Great Irish Famine of 150 years ago, using an Irish theme which honors that history by helping fight famine today, also resonates.
What has the feedback been for this campaign so far? Are people first learning about child malnutrition and Plumpy’Nut from your efforts?
With #MakeYourGreenCount, we are spreading the word about Plumpy’Nut and talking about the issues surrounding global childhood malnutrition to the press, public officials, campus groups, classes, and area businesses. People are sharing the campaign on social media, helping to expand our reach organically to new audiences. So far, feedback has been terrific. People like the simplicity of the challenge and the chance to make a difference while having fun challenging friends and colleagues. Support continues to grow– from student groups and area schools to businesses including Tara’s Tipperary Tavern, the oldest Irish pub in Rhode Island, people are getting involved. We hope their example will inspire others from throughout the U.S. to do the same.
How does someone get involved with “Make Your Green Count?”
Take the challenge and share about it on social media using the hashtag #MakeYourGreenCount! Donate $5 between now and St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, and then challenge ten friends to do the same for a total of $55 – the cost of one box of Plumpy’Nut, a full life-saving treatment. One box, one life. It’s that simple. All donations go directly to Edesia via our online fundraising page: #MakeYourGreenCount. Like and follow us on twitter and facebook , share the donation link and “get your green on” with original photos and video, or upload one from us. We make it easy, affordable, and we’re hoping to create a chain reaction of people challenging ten others who in turn challenge ten others, and so on.
Do you feel this campaign could have an impact like the Ice Bucket Challenge, a Plumpy’Nut challenge of sorts?
Forbes Magazine recently analyzed the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge and boiled it down to three main characteristics: it was big, selfless, and simple. Going “big” with the idea while keeping it selfless can help a campaign to catch on with the public, and keeping it simple can help it to catch on quickly. We believe #MakeYourGreenCount shares those characteristics and has the potential to be every bit as impactful.
#MakeYourGreenCount Plumpy’Nut Team: Sergio Suhett ‘15, Kylie Rice ‘15, David St. Amant ‘16, Kimberly DeLande ‘15
For more information visit the MakeYourGreenCount fundraiser page, facebook page or twitter.
Read the full article at Examiner.
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Author William Lambers 