Going hungry for a good cause
Posted Apr 8, 2011 03:42:30 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Teenagers across Canada are taking part in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine this Friday and Saturday. Participants raise money for sustainable development programs by getting people to sponsor them to go without food for thirty hours.
This year, more than 60,000 Canadian teens are expected to participate through their school, church or community groups, says Mark Miller, the Atlantic Regional Representative for World Vision.
April 8th-9th is the national weekend for famine in Canada, but some groups will do the famine another time. World Vision’s website has suggestions for activities, but it’s up to individual groups to decide how to spend their 30 hours of famine.
“Different groups do different things,” Miller says, “many groups will do an all-night event where they engage in different activities to raise awareness of poverty and global issues. Some of them will show some movies that are kind of connected to these kind of global issues, and run activities and events and games. Sometimes they’ll sleep some of it to get through with the hunger pains they’re experiencing.”
World Vision has tweaked the program slightly this year to allow teens to donate the money they raise to the cause they’re most passionate about.
“A lot of students are so aware of what’s happening around the world and globally and they’re passionate about different issues, so we wanted to ensure that not only are they just raising money, but they’re connect to an issue they’re passionate about,” Miller says.
Teens can now choose to give their money to food and nutrition projects, provide clean water to communities, child protection programs, or education for vulnerable children.
A group of teenagers started the 30 Hour Famine in the basement of their Calgary church in 1971. Forty years later, it’s the world’s largest and longest running youth event to fight poverty and hunger. In 2010, Canadian teens raised more than $3 million for World Vision programs. This year, Canadian groups are looking to top that number and raise $4.65 million.
If you want to sponsor a group doing the 30 Hour Famine you can visit their website or visit World Vision’s main site.
