International Day of Charity: Food For The Poor Honors Decades-Long Partnership
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 4, 2020) Helping those living in poverty throughout the Caribbean and Latin America takes many hands. Food For The Poor is grateful for the support of loyal donors, volunteers and its many trusted partners, such as Matthew 25: Ministries.
On Saturday, nonprofits worldwide will commemorate the International Day of Charity by encouraging charitable acts in their respective communities to raise public awareness.
This year, especially, FFTP is grateful for the 23-year partnership with Matthew 25: Ministries, as the two charities have worked together to respond both nationally and internationally. Headquartered in Cincinnati, the international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization has provided FFTP with thousands of tractor-trailer loads of aid since 1997.
For the first 19 years of the partnership, the aid FFTP received went to assist families in dire need internationally, in the 17 countries, where FFTP primarily serves. But in August 2016, FFTP and Matthew 25: Ministries teamed up for the first time in the United States. A slow-moving system dumped more than 20 inches of rain in Baton Rouge and nearby parishes over a three-day span that caused record flooding.
“We are blessed to have the support of Matthew 25: Ministries,” Food For The Poor President/CEO Ed Raine said. “Our work is primarily international, but during times of crisis, such as this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, we need to help locally. Matthew 25: Ministries is helping us to make a difference for families in the United States by supplying everyday items that are making a difference.”
Since March, Matthew 25: Ministries has provided FFTP with 17 tractor-trailer loads of toilet paper and paper towels, cleaning supplies and personal care items like laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, shampoo and conditioner, diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream and other items, which were shared with churches of various denominations for distribution to families in need.
Families throughout Central and South America are enduring hardships from the coronavirus because they have no money to buy face masks. FFTP, in partnership with Matthew 25: Ministries, is supporting the manufacture of masks in five sewing centers throughout Honduras. The two charities also have created 144 jobs for vulnerable Colombians who are making hundreds of thousands of masks. The masks will be distributed to the most vulnerable and to areas hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Now, FFTP is turning its attention to southern Louisiana after Hurricane Laura stormed ashore as a deadly Category 4 storm. FFTP will be working with its partners to supply much-needed aid to the residents in the Lake Charles area, which will include essential supplies provided by Matthew 25: Ministries.
“Matthew 25: Ministries is grateful for our partnership with Food For The Poor, which has allowed us to help so many people here in the United States and around the world,” Matthew 25: Ministries CEO Tim Mettey said. “By working together, we’ve been able to make an even bigger impact on the lives of people affected by extreme poverty or the aftermath of disasters.”
International Charity Day is observed on September 5, the death anniversary of Mother Teresa, who is venerated for her deeds of charity. She died Sept. 5, 1997, at the age of 87 in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. In 2012, the United Nations declared the day an international holiday.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned and abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Wanda Wright
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]
