Wearing blue shirts that read "Failure is not an option," Lenny and Lin Crispinelli have continued to build their daughter's legacy, erecting a second school in Jamaica with the nonprofit Food For The Poor. Energized by the fast-paced construction, a group of 33 friends and family members discussed plans for a third school before 'Steph's Place II' in Clarendon, Jamaica, was even finished.

"We've got to keep this going," said Lin, at the work site of Steph's Place II. "Everybody is so excited – it has been a wonderful experience. It has helped us so much in our healing."

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Students nationwide are encouraged to host an event on their campus to commemorate World Food Day in partnership with the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor. Last year, colleges and universities throughout the United States made a commitment to make a positive, tangible difference in our world. In one night, for the second consecutive year, students raised money to build self-sustaining tilapia ponds in Haiti.

"The tilapia-farming project is not meant to alleviate poverty in the short-term, but rather to help this community rebuild in the long run by ceasing hunger and creating jobs for community residents," said Isabelle Martinez, who graduated from The Honors College at Miami Dade College in April 2011.

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Since 2007, Outreach has donated 7.5 million meals, packaged by volunteers throughout the United States, to Food For The Poor. In the last year alone, Outreach has donated four containers of food, exceeding 1 million meals.

These meals of rice-vegetable casserole, fortified with soy protein and vitamins, have been distributed to countries through Food For The Poor's network in Latin America and the Caribbean – principally Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

"Food For The Poor feeds more than 2 million people each day in the 17 countries we serve. We depend on organizations such as Outreach to help us supply the necessary food to feed the hungry," said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. "We are grateful to them, because without them, many more lives would be threatened by malnutrition and starvation.

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People who give say they feel happier and more fulfilled when they are able to share their blessings with others. Those sentiments were expressed by Kansas City businessman Joe Roetheli and his wife, Judy, who traveled to the remote Essequibo Coast in Guyana, to inaugurate the fourth self-sustaining village they have commissioned in partnership with Food For The Poor.

"We have been blessed in our lives to be able to bless you," said Judy Roetheli to village residents during the dedication of Georgeville in Capoey. "It is a great blessing for us to be able to be part of the building of this village."

This was Judy's first trip to Guyana, and the village was named for her father, George O'Brien Hill. The Roetheli's wanted to create a living legacy to honor his memory and philanthropic spirit.

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Dust off those sneakers, if you haven't already, and get ready to run, jog or walk in what has become one of Food For The Poor's most popular events in its fight against hunger.

The 6th annual "5K Walk/Run For Hunger" fundraiser in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on Sept. 24, will kick-start events nationwide: Oct. 15 in Fort Mill, S.C., Nov. 12 in Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 19 in Miami, Fla., and April 7 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Every step will benefit malnourished children and their families – our neighbors, in the Caribbean and Latin America. Your support is needed to quell the hunger pains of children who have bloated bellies and orange hair caused by protein deficiency.

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Just three months after a group of 13 strangers from varied backgrounds traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with Food For The Poor, the group has generated enough donations to build a double-unit home.

The new home funded by the group will be built in the Santa Barbara region later this summer. The group wants to build three more double-unit homes and will need to raise $9,600 to make this dream a reality for three more families in desperate need of sturdy housing.

With many families in the mountain region of Santa Barbara living in makeshift dwellings, the construction of even one home can become a community event. The group experienced happiness after they completed Efigenia Ramirez's 400-square-foot house in April. Ramirez's neighbors gathered and clapped with joy when Food For The Poor presented her with the key to a new home for herself and her family of 11.

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A large piece of cardboard, with cartoon-like images of a curvy street and houses made of pastel fabric is not something you'll see in a world-famous museum. But this work of art, affectionately referred to as "the neighborhood," is so much more. It represents compassion, creativity, and the desire to make a difference in the lives of people three time zones and 3,000 miles away.

American Capital Group, located in Irvine, Calif., is an equipment finance company that has been in business since 1995. ACG leases computers, trucks and capital equipment to other businesses. Looking for a way to give back, the company decided to change its mission statement during a leadership team retreat last year.

"Our mission is to deliver innovative equipment financing solutions that enhance the lives of our customers, employees and community," said Burke Wiedel, a Controller, with ACG.

It's the 'community' portion of the statement, he says, that led them to Food For The Poor and the goal of raising enough money to build 20 homes for families recovering from the Jan.12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. FULL POST

Have you ever been hugged so tightly you could feel the other person's heartbeat? Embraces full of gratitude welcomed Monsignor Francis X. Schmidt and residents from the Philadelphia area to villages in Haiti and Nicaragua that they have helped to transform with the relief and development organization Food For The Poor.

"We, working with Father Chuck's Challenge in partnership with Food For The Poor, are performing important corporal works of mercy," said Msgr. Schmidt. "God blesses us with very generous donors to help very poor but very grateful beneficiaries."

Msgr. Schmidt's first group journeyed by boat to Father Pfeffer's Fishing Village in Baussan, Haiti, on May 25 to inaugurate the 30 two-room home coastal fishing village. Along the conch shell-lined beach, crowds of thankful villagers waded in the shallow water to greet the travelers with song and dance. In addition to building much needed homes in Baussan, the group also represented donors who funded the income-generating fishing village project in the community. FULL POST

At the same time Haitians came together to elect a new president, a government teacher in California challenged high school seniors to combine their talents through their curriculum to erect safe, permanent houses for destitute families in Haiti. Since the fall, two groups of students at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita have partnered with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor, to move destitute Haitian families out of unsafe housing and unsanitary living conditions.

"The opportunity to participate in raising money for a family in Haiti really brings joy to my heart," said Justin Hirano, a senior at Valencia High School. "I raised money by singing and playing my guitar at a park on one of my free weekends for a few hours. Before I knew it people were putting dollar bills into the guitar case."

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Give hunger a one-two punch with SwipeGood, a service that rounds up and donates the spare change from your credit card purchases to Food For The Poor! Sign-up by this Friday and SwipeGood will MATCH your first month's round ups, instantly DOUBLING the number of hungry children you'll feed.

On average, SwipeGood users round up $18 in spare change each month. So, if you sign up by June 24, SwipeGood will match your $18 and send $36 to Food For The Poor feeding programs -- enough to feed a hungry child for an ENTIRE YEAR!

Here's how it works:

1. Go to http://www.foodforthepoor.org/swipegoodmatch
2. Click the orange "Get Started" button
3. Create an account or log-in with your Facebook account
4. Enter your credit or debit card information
5. Set a monthly donation limit if you want
6. Start shopping and incorporate giving into your everyday life! FULL POST