Kids Care Clubs Feed the World
Service Projects plus Microfinance = Real Change 

New York, NY – October 16, 2009.  From Birmingham to Beijing, Kids Care Clubs will feed the hungry by participating in the Microfinance for Kids and Feed the Hungry projects during the tenth annual Kids Care Week, October 18 – 24, 2009. The global recession and the loss of jobs have increased the demand for food assistance. In America, according to the USDA, more than 36 million Americans including 12.4 million children are at risk of hunger.  The United Nations estimates some 2 to 3 billion people worldwide are malnourished.
With support from Quaker Oats, Kids Care Week 2009 is focusing on the issue of hunger and incorporating a new tool – microfinance – to help clubs help others.

Inspired by the book, One Hen – How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, by Katie Smith Milway, Kids Care Clubs, a program of Youth HandsOn Network, is offering microfinance as a way to show how a small grant can make a big difference.  Thanks to Quaker Oats, the premier partner of Kids Care Clubs, $18,500 in mini-grants/microloans was awarded to 70 Kids Care Clubs in 32 states, the District of Columbia and to clubs in Saudi Arabia and China.   

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Quaker to help our Kids Care Clubs take creative and meaningful action against hunger,” says Maggie Jones, Executive Director of Youth HandsOn Network, “Thousands of people around the country and across the world will benefit from the service projects implemented by our young volunteers!”   

A Kids Care Club facilitator in North Carolina, expressed the situation mirrored in many communities across America when she wrote, “Many families are on welfare, many parents have lost jobs and many do not qualify for food stamps. The majority of our students receive free lunch.  It will mean so much to our families who “shop” at the food bank, to know that our Club -- their children, helped stock the shelves.  They will realize somebody else does care and that is the Kids Care Club!” 

To nourish families in their community and support food pantries and soup kitchens, clubs such as:  

• The Cougars Care Kids Care Club in Greensboro, NC, the Kidz Count Kids Care Club in Sioux Falls, SD, and the Ras Tanura Kids Care Club in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia will be hosting dinners at their schools to serve and fundraise  for families in need.
• The Edward Everett Kids Care Club in Dorchester, MA will host a “candlelight” dinner at their local homeless shelter.  The club will shop, prepare and serve the food. The club facilitator said, “It is important for our children to meet those who they are serving.”

 Some of the clubs using microfinance to feed the hungry are:·        
 

• The Barka Elementary Kids Care Club in Derry, NH and The Community Learning Center in Neenan, WI who will make “One Hen” multi colored, beaded bracelets inspired by the Yancey Kids Care Club in Esmont, VA.  Different beads will tell the One Hen story.  By buying or earning these bracelets, club members will share the story of microfinance with their peers. ·        
• The Cloverly Kids Care Clubs in Silver Springs, MD and the Volunteer Connection of Northwest Ohio in Defiance, OH, will create and sell cookbooks that include healthy recipes, information about microfinance, and a list of local agencies that serve the hungry.·        
• The Little Oak Kids Care Club in Beijing, China, will make and sell crafts, and cookies at the club’s musical performance to benefit local migrant families.  The club facilitator says, “Our project will draw public attention to the situation of malnutrition among children of migrant workers and provide nutritious food to those children. “  

Kids Care Week concludes on Make a Difference Day, Saturday, October 24^th, which is a national day of helping others, and is sponsored by USA Weekend and held in partnership with HandsOn Network. 

Kids Care Clubs, a program of Youth HandsOn Network, develops compassion and inspires the spirit of service in elementary and middle school age youth.  There are 1800 registered Kids Care Clubs in the world. To learn more about Kids Care Clubs, visit www.kidscare.org.