Teens Devote Month to Helping the Hungry

There are so many big news stories on the national and international front that compete for our attention: wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,  popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt,  civil wars in Sudan and Libya,  and turmoil in Syria. Not to mention the  tsunami that struck Japan in March and the tornadoes that just wreaked havoc in our own southern states.

Unfortunately, some ongoing stories like climate change, worldwide hunger and poverty are largely ignored because they’re crowded out by our perception of current events. But during the month of April, a national organization, World Vision has focused on the plight of those who go hungry every day of their lives.

World Vision's 30 Hour Famine program involves students, ministers and adult supervisors in various community churches and religious organizations who participate in assorted fund-raising efforts to assist the hungry and impoverished.

The statistics concerning those who routinely must do without food internationally are so staggering as to almost defy comprehension: nearly 8,000 children die from hunger every day, or one child every 10 seconds of every day, according to World Vision. Factoring in what are termed as preventable diseases, about 24,000 children die every day. Of the more than six billion people who live on the planet, one billion, or one in six, will go hungry on any given day.

For many families, the only food they have is what they’re able to grow themselves, forcing them to live at a subsistence level. And with drought or flood conditions constantly threatening to wipe out their annual harvest, their lives are spent living perpetually on the brink of disaster.

Teens at two local churches, Alpine Chapel and Northwest Family Church, have been involved throughout April, joining with other youth throughout the country, in contributing to the fight against hunger and poverty. Breaking their typical routines, these middle-class high school students are gaining a better understanding of what people in less fortunate circumstances must endure on a daily basis.

“Some of the students have gotten sponsors, had fund-raising events during the month of April and also made donations for this cause. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Love Hungry,” the group also began fasting at 4 p.m., Friday, April 29, and continued until 10 p.m., Saturday, April 30," said Linda Sertic, one of the local event coordinators, explaining how many of the students are getting a first-hand glimpse at experiencing hunger.

 “They camped out in tents on the grounds of Alpine Church, Friday night, and then had various challenges and team building events to participate in on Saturday. At the conclusion of the fast we provided a spaghetti dinner for all participants.”

“We started our community service projects Saturday morning at 9 after a brief appearance by several District 95 representatives expressing their thanks for the work our kids are doing,” Sertic said. “We concluded our service project work at about 4 on Saturday.” 

“Youth groups from Alpine Chapel and Northwest Family Church worked on their home church areas,” Sertic said. “Northwest Church cleaned up the Regal Cinema grounds, which is where our Sunday services are held.” Sponsors contribute funds to the student’s clean-up and spruce-up projects, much like sponsors who fund area charity walks held by other organizations.

Besides trash pick-ups at such locations as Paulus Park and the grounds of Regal Cinema, the volunteers worked all day Saturday at Sarah Adams and May Whitney grade schools, including sprucing up playground equipment. They also spent five hours on Saturday morning and afternoon picking up trash and mulching and weeding around flower beds, trees and bushes bordering Midlothian Road at the Hawthorn Woods Aquatic Center. “We used eight truck loads of mulch at the Aquatic Center," said Sertic. They also spent some time at Lake Zurich High School.

Kirk Truex, youth pastor at Northwest Family Church, and Josh Blick, youth pastor at Alpine Chapel, worked together to coordinate the assorted clean-up efforts.

Funds raised by those participating in 30 Hour Famine help feed and care for children in communities around the globe through its parent organization, World Vision. A portion of the funds go to families in need here in the United States. The money raised by World Vision goes towards areas where famine, conflict and other crises make children vulnerable to hunger and preventable disease.

Since 1992, the 30 Hour Famine program has raised almost $140 million. Working in nearly 100 countries, the organization assists approximately 100 million people annually.

For more information about World Vision, visit their website at worldvision.org.  For more information regarding the 30 Hour Famine program, visit their website at 30hourfamine.org, or call 800-7-FAMINE.

Kirk Truex of Northwest Family Church can be contacted by email at: ktruex@nwfamilychurch.org. Josh Blick can be reached by email at: josh@alpinechapel.org.