The OFL Challenge

If you've been following this blog long, you may have seen me posting about Operation Feed The Lambs or even the Operation Feed The Lambs 6 Week Challenge.  

 Well guys, the challenge has been a bust.  I literally had no one link up.  No one sent me any stats.  I've seen the button around the bloggy world and that means a lot to me - but buttons don't feed babies. 

 I'll be honest - I haven't really gotten my act together either.  I've raised a total of $28.  And all but $7 of those have come from me donating the profit equivalent of a giveaway item from my Hunger Line.  Why nothing more?  Because summer is tough.  Summer is busy. 

And I figure, if summer is rough for me - it's probably rough for everyone.  Also, children don't just starve for 6 weeks.  They starve every single day of every year.  So why put an end to the challenge?

 Therefore guys, I'm extending the deadline for the Operation Feed The Lambs Challenge  - indefinitely.  I'll never take that ticker down.  I'll never stop reminding you all about OFL and what we're trying to do.  So if you missed the first 6 weeks, now is the time to get on board!  Once again, here are the details:

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source

The most helpless feeling in the world, for a parent, is being unable to relieve the suffering of a child.  Fortunately, America is a country of vast resources.  True, even in our privileged society children go hungry and fall prey to terrible illnesses.  But these tragedies are magnified tenfold in countries that are overrun with poverty.

Not long ago stories and images flooded the news channels about parents in the Horn of Africa having to leave behind children who were too weak to walk as they made long voyages seeking food and aid after a famine.  I can't begin to fathom how difficult that decision must have been.  I'd like to think that this was an isolated incident due to unpredictable circumstances.   Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

According to Thinkquest*, 15 million children die each year from hunger.

Bread.org estimates that 925 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition worldwide.

The World Food Project claims that hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined!

And the most tragic of all - Thinkquest claims that most of the world's hunger and sanitation problems could be solved for the cost of what people in developed countries spend on perfume in just one year. 

But it isn't enough to think "oh, sure, I could give up this perfume bottle to feed a kid."  Someone has to match the willing donors to the need.  Someone has to inform people that there is a need in the first place.  I'm sure we're all aware of hunger.  But in a society where many of us are relatively well fed, it's hard to really comprehend the level of starvation occurring in the world.

I have a "Cause" section in my menu that highlights many great causes that are worth fighting for.  I've been posting lately that I don't have the time or resources to take on every cause as my own, so I share them with you there.  But this one - hunger, starvation, malnourished children - this is MY cause.

And I want to invite you to join me in the fight to bring food to children in need.  If we can ease the suffering of even a few children - if we can abate the heartache of a few parents - that is my goal.  So, I am officially issuing the

Operation Feed The Lambs Challenge

How much money can we in the bloggerverse raise to help end child starvation?  Will you join me in raising some funds?  Here are the details

1) Plan out a fundraiser.  It can be as simple as hitting up your friends for spare change, or as complicated as organizing a 5K.  Whatever you're good at, start there.

2) Start a Hunger Line.  Are you an etsy shop owner?  Consider starting a Hunger Line.  Choose one item (or type of item) and donate 100% of profits from that one item to fighting hunger.  Be sure to tag your item with Hunger Line - lets see if we can start an etsy trend!

3) Be a media maven! Tweet about the OFL challenge, post on your facebook page, write up a blog post or grab this button for your side bar

<div align="center"><a href="http://babystuffilove.blogspot.com/search/label/Operation%20Feed%20The%20Lambs" title="Operation Feed The Lambs"><img src="http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/mrscat206/EndHungerbutton-1.jpg" alt="Operation Feed The Lambs" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

4) Link up.  We have a linky for your Hunger Line here, and another linky for your project posts here.  I'll be sure to keep the linky active so we can all check out each other's projects!

5) Donate.  Then take those dollars you've raised and donate them. Any charity that turns that money into food will do. Already have a favorite organization? Great! If not, you might want to consider some of these:

Feed The Children
Children's Hunger Relief Fund
Children's Hunger Fund
Heifer International
World Food Programme
World Vision

Do a little research, pick the one that's right for you, and help feed those babies! Once you've donated your funds, if you feel comfortable, send me your total and I'll add it to the ticker.  Let's make that mercury rise!!

Are you in?  Do you have any questions?  Have a project idea, charity, or story you really want to share?  Feel free to comment below, or email me at stuffilove.and.mimibaby@gmail.com!



*Facts as of 1997
 

Operation Feed The Lambs Link Up

Have you read this post about the Operation Feed The Lambs 6 Week Challenge yet?  It gives you all the details on the challenge I issued you (yes you!) to see how much money we can raise in 6 weeks to donate to hunger relief for children world wide.

Today I'm hosting a link-up for you to give us a peek at your OFL fund-raising projects.  Are you planning a fun event to gather dollars for these kids?  Did you find a $20 bill on the street and want to donate it to the cause?  Are you too overwhelmed to organize an event but spend some time on your knees petitioning for these children instead (yup, that counts)?  Whatever it is that you're doing, or planning to do, write up a little post and link up below.  I'm sure we could all use a little inspiration and it's great to see what the community is up to!

At the moment, I'm trying to put together a fund-raiser of my own.  I'd really like to do a pot-luck (either with a love-offering or cheap admission fees) if I can find help organizing (I'm not much of an event planner).  It's a bit of a squeeze to get it in before the 6 weeks are up, as we've got a super busy June - but I'm praying about it!  If you've got any advice for me, please let me know!

So, fill us in - what have you been up to?


 

Hunger Line link up

If you're new here, you might want to check out this post about the Operation Feed The Lambs 6 Week Challenge.  Long story short, I've issued a challenge to my fellow bloggers to see how much money we can raise in 6 weeks to donate to hunger relief for children world wide.

One of my suggestions for fund-raising is for shop owners to create a Hunger Line in their shops.  If we all put together an item (or line of items) from which 100% of profits would be donated to hunger relief charities, and if we tag the items with Hunger Line, we just might start a trend and raise some big bucks.  And, the more exposure our Hunger Line items get, the quicker they'll sell.

So feel free to link up any items you've created to raise money for Operation Feed The Lambs below.  And if you have a moment, share the post.  The more we link and share, the more potential customers we'll reach.

This link will remain open for the duration of the 6 week challenge, so keep adding items as they hit your shops.

Thanks to you all for joining in!!!


 

Operation Feed The Lambs: 6 Week Challenge

source

The most helpless feeling in the world, for a parent, is being unable to relieve the suffering of a child.  Fortunately, America is a country of vast resources.  True, even in our privileged society children go hungry and fall prey to terrible illnesses.  But these tragedies are magnified tenfold in countries that are overrun with poverty.

Not long ago stories and images flooded the news channels about parents in the Horn of Africa having to leave behind children who were too weak to walk as they made long voyages seeking food and aid after a famine.  I can't begin to fathom how difficult that decision must have been.  I'd like to think that this was an isolated incident due to unpredictable circumstances.   Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

According to Thinkquest*, 15 million children die each year from hunger.

Bread.org estimates that 925 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition worldwide.

The World Food Project claims that hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined!

And the most tragic of all - Thinkquest claims that most of the world's hunger and sanitation problems could be solved for the cost of what people in developed countries spend on perfume in just one year. 

But it isn't enough to think "oh, sure, I could give up this perfume bottle to feed a kid."  Someone has to match the willing donors to the need.  Someone has to inform people that there is a need in the first place.  I'm sure we're all aware of hunger.  But in a society where many of us are relatively well fed, it's hard to really comprehend the level of starvation occurring in the world.

I have a "Cause" section in my menu that highlights many great causes that are worth fighting for.  I've been posting lately that I don't have the time or resources to take on every cause as my own, so I share them with you there.  But this one - hunger, starvation, malnourished children - this is MY cause.

And I want to invite you to join me in the fight to bring food to children in need.  If we can ease the suffering of even a few children - if we can abate the heartache of a few parents - that is my goal.  So, I am officially issuing the

Operation Feed The Lambs 6 Week Challenge

How much money can we in the bloggerverse raise in 6 weeks to help end child starvation?  Will you join me in raising some funds?  Here are the details

1) Plan out a fundraiser.  It can be as simple as hitting up your friends for spare change, or as complicated as organizing a 5K.  Whatever you're good at, start there.

2) Start a Hunger Line.  Are you an etsy shop owner?  Consider starting a Hunger Line.  Choose one item (or type of item) and donate 100% of profits from that one item to fighting hunger.  Be sure to tag your item with Hunger Line - lets see if we can start an etsy trend!

3) Be a media maven! Tweet about the OFL challenge, post on your facebook page, write up a blog post or grab this button for your side bar

<div align="center"><a href="http://babystuffilove.blogspot.com/search/label/Operation%20Feed%20The%20Lambs" title="Operation Feed The Lambs"><img src="http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee435/mrscat206/EndHungerbutton-1.jpg" alt="Operation Feed The Lambs" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

4) Link up.  In 6 weeks we'll be having a linky-party.  Write up a little post about your fundraiser.  Share pictures, tell amazing stories about the people you met or the roadblocks you overcame. Tell us a little about where you held your event and what you did. Even if you just picked up spare change off the street, tell us about your project.  Or, show off some of the products from your new Hunger Line.  You don't have to share your total, but if you want to, I'll be keeping a tally to post a "grand total" at the end so we can see what kind of impact our bloggy community had.  Link up your post so we can all cheer each other on.

5) Donate.  Then take those dollars you've raised and donate them. Any charity that turns that money into food will do. Already have a favorite organization? Great! If not, you might want to consider some of these:

Feed The Children
Children's Hunger Relief Fund
Children's Hunger Fund
Heifer International
World Food Programme
World Vision

Do a little research, pick the one that's right for you, and help feed those babies!

Are you in?  Do you have any questions?  Have a project idea, charity, or story you really want to share?  Feel free to comment below, or email me at stuffilove.and.mimibaby@gmail.com!



*Facts as of 1997
 

Operation Feed The Lambs

I'm sure a lot of you saw this post from a couple weeks ago.  The post where I spoke about how much my heart grieves for all the children around the world who are facing malnutrition and starvation.  The post about how much my heart aches for the parents who have to live every day with the knowledge that they cannot provide for their own children. 

Every day I thank God that my kids can eat.  That we have so much food they take it for granted.  That they have the luxury of choosing what they eat, of longing for treats because they know what 'junk food' is.  That though they are thin, they are at no risk for poor health. 

According to this fact sheet, every year 15 million children die of starvation.  15 million precious lambs are dying every year because they cannot afford to eat!!  And yet here we sit worrying about becoming too fat from our blessings and overabundance.  I don't want to sit by anymore. 

But I can't do this on my own.  My scope is limited.  My time and funds are limited. And so I am starting Operation Feed The Lambs to encourage you to help.  Every little bit counts - so many of these families live on >$2/day.  Here's what you can do to take part:

1) Grab a button from my sidebar and help me advertise this project. If you need a button in a different size, let me know and I'll gladly make you one.

2) Start a Hunger Line in your etsy shop.  At my shop I have a line of bracelets (featured in the button pic) from which I donate 100% of the profits from sales to charities dedicated to ending child starvation.  You can do the same with an item from your shop.  Let's see how popular we can make the Hunger Line on etsy!

3) Organize a Run for Hunger.  Gather up a bunch of athletic (or just caring) friends, gather some donations, and go for a run. 

4) Get creative!  Set up change jars, host car washes, hold a progressive dinner with admission fees - just get moving. 

5) Spread the word.  Write up a post of your own about Operation Feed The Lambs.  Link it up around the internet.  Pin it to Pinterest.  Share this post on your social media feeds.  Put up fliers at the library.  Call your aunt.  Get the word out. 

6) Leave lots of comments here with ideas.  I've just started brainstorming. The more brains we involve, the bigger the storm.  I want to hear your thoughts! 

7) If you do decide to participate, keep a good record of the money you've raised.  It would be fun to post collective totals now and then to encourage us to keep going.  

Thanks so much for helping me with this project!  Lets work together to bring food to the precious lambs so no more parents have to sit helplessly by and watch their children suffer from malnutrition. 

Will you join the Operation?