4,400 Families Received Food and Supplies
Responding to the plight of workers left jobless by the closing of the DHL Express location in Wilmington, Feed The Children delivered 11 semi tractor-trailers filled with food and personal care items to help sustain 4,400 families in the affected area on February 19.
Feed The Children, working with local partner agency Sugartree Ministry Center, provided a box of food and personal care items to recipients. The boxes are designed to help sustain a family of four for up to 10-14 days. The distribution took place at Sugartree Ministry Center’s location at 180 East Main Street in Wilmington.
Nature’s One, Inc.®, a Feed The Children partner, donated funds specifically for this relief effort.
Hirzel Canning Company, a Toledo, Ohio-based manufacturer of canned tomato and sauerkraut products, has donated products that are included in the food boxes.
Avon Products, Inc®. has donated gift bags filled with Avon products and gift items to recipient families. Avon Products, Inc. has been a long time partner of Feed The Children.
Long-time Feed The Children partner STAR Touring & Riding Association, the only officially recognized Star Motorcycle owners group, had members on hand to assist with the distribution. Event volunteers also included Future Farmers of America members from local high schools and volunteers from Alkermes, a medical supply company.
According to the Economic Task Force for the DHL Hub created by Mayor David Raizk, one in three families in Wilmington had someone employed at DHL. The projected impact of the job losses is expected to exceed $400 million dollars annually.
“I have been touched by the devastation that these families are feeling. There may be no city in America that has been impacted by the current economic crisis as much as Wilmington,” said Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed The Children. “With this delivery, Wilmington families can walk away from this event with renewed hope knowing that someone is there to help them weather this storm.”
About Feed The Children
Founded in 1979 by Larry and Frances Jones, Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10 largest international charities in the U.S., based on private, non-government support. Feed The Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty or natural disasters. In FY 2007, Feed The Children distributed more than 135 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and internationally, supplementing almost 800,000 meals each day. For more information, please visit www.feedthechildren.org www.larryjones.tv www.givingisgood.com
Contacts:
Feed The Children
Tony Sellars, 405-313-9890