Community effort in Mt. Prospect

On behalf of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Mt. Prospect, we would like to thank the community for supporting the Feed My Starving Children event we held at our church from April 16-20.

Over 1,965 volunteers came to fill bags of rice, soy, chicken flavoring and dehydrated vegetables for highly malnourished children overseas, including children in Haiti.

We are thrilled that we surpassed our goal of 400,000 meals. This translates into feeding 1,184 children for an entire year. It truly was a community effort.

More than half of the participants were youth form Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, sports teams and service groups from Prospect High School and Lincoln Middle School, and many students form elementary schools and church groups.

In this age where youths are pictured as troublemakers, these youths worked hard during their two-hour shift and had fun doing it. The returned over and over to work additional shifts. The adults in the community were just as supportive. It was a pleasure to see a variety of generations working together for a common good, fighting world hunger.

The organization, Feed My Starving Children has created a way for those of us who have been blessed with plenty to serve those who have little. They are hoping to find a permanent warehouse in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. When they do, we hope everyone will volunteer at their site on a regular basis packing food. It's easy, it's fun and you leave feeling like you've made a difference in a child's life.

Cindy Decker, Youth and Family Coordinator

St. Mark Lutheran Church

Mount Prospect