University of the West Indies Honors Food For The Poor for Work in Caribbean

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 29, 2016) The University of the West Indies will honor Food For The Poor with the prestigious Chancellor’s Award at its seventh annual Toronto Benefit Gala on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto.

Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood will attend to accept the award.

The Chancellor’s Award is given to organizations that have contributed significantly to the Caribbean and brought prominence to issues in the region or to outstanding organizations owned by persons of Caribbean heritage.

Food For The Poor, which started serving Jamaica in 1982, is now transforming the lives of the destitute in 17 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

“It is an honor and I am humbled to receive this award on behalf of Food For The Poor and the people in the countries we serve. Our calling is to serve the poor, and we have done so with great impact the last 34 years. God willing, we will continue to do so as long as the need exists,” said Mahfood. “Our goal is to provide food, housing, water and an education to break the cycle of poverty.”

As one of the original founders of Food For The Poor, Mahfood previously served as Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the corporation. His leadership, strategic planning, and business acumen have helped the organization become recognized as one of the most efficiently run nonprofits in the country.

Thanks to its faithful donors, the organization’s programs are providing housing, healthcare, education, fresh water, emergency relief and micro-enterprise assistance, in addition to feeding hundreds of thousands of people each day.

Food For The Poor-Canada is a related charity to the Florida-based organization. Located in Toronto, Food For The Poor-Canada focuses on education and housing.

In the last three years alone, Food For The Poor has built 70 schools in Jamaica, 10 of which were built by Canadian partners of Food For The Poor. The schools have provided thousands of children across the island with access to a safe and happy learning environment.

“Our Canada team has the privilege of working with so many great partners to change lives,” said Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director of Food For The Poor-Canada.

Since 1982, Food For The Poor has provided more than $11 billion in aid, more than half of which was provided in the last six years, and has built more than 100,000 housing units for families in need of safe shelter, completed 2,286 water projects and has built, repaired or expanded more than 350 schools. The charity also has distributed more than 75,000 tractor-trailer loads of goods and aid.

Under the theme “Light, Learning and Liberty,” The University of the West Indies Toronto Benefit Gala provides funds for scholarships. Almost 250 scholarships have been awarded in six years and more than 70 recipient students have graduated, most with first class honors.

The Patron of the seventh annual gala is The G. Raymond Chang Family. Lead Sponsor is Scotiabank for the seventh consecutive year.

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations 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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Michael Turnbell

Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]