Canned Food Collected and Donated by Local Boy Scouts

	(Front, L to R) Hunter Rubin, Michael Raghunandan, James Dell, Cody Newton-John, Stephen Dell. (Back, L to R) Warren Wittemore, Daniel Wheeler, Austin Delfino.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 5, 2012) — What started out as an Eagle Scout project for one young man, quickly turned into a passionate mission to help the poor by a group of dedicated Scouts.

Six weeks and more than 90 volunteer hours later, 17-year-old Michael Raghunandan led 10 of his fellow Boy Scouts to collect more than 2,500 cans of beans, Spam, mackerel and other food items. The boys gave up several weekends to set up collection boxes at the Publix in Cutler Bay, the Villages of Palmetto Bay, the Palmetto Bay Golf Course, and at their local places of worship.

Raghunandan, whose parents are from Guyana and the Cayman Islands, is a student at Westminster Christian School in Palmetto Bay and spearheaded this canned food collection to earn his Eagle Scout badge. He dreams of attending the University of Miami and wants to major in Health Sciences. He said this project took on a special meaning after his research of various nonprofits led him to Food For The Poor.

“We were so impressed that 96 percent of every donation to the organization is used to benefit people and different projects in both Latin America and the Caribbean. After learning the details, we knew this is where we wanted our canned foods to go,” said Raghunandan. “It makes me feel great to be able to put a smile on the faces of people who do not have the basic necessities of life, such as food, water, or even clothing. We are happy we can help.”

The food drive was led by Michael Raghunandan, 17, pictured here with a box of goods.

Boy Scout Troop 806, who represents the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay areas and is also sponsored by Westminster Christian School, personally delivered their donation to Food For The Poor’s headquarters in Coconut Creek on Friday. The donated canned items, along with dozens of can openers, will be divided and shipped to Guyana and Trinidad.

“We are so very appreciative of this group of young men who worked so hard to make this generous donation to Food For The Poor. Hundreds of children soon will benefit from their kindness, which is a blessing to both the givers and the receivers,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]