When representatives of the Florida Marlins and Waste Management walked into Inspiration Village in Malfety, Haiti, last week, the residents greeted them with marching bands, dancers and words of deep gratitude. Hundreds of men, women, and children gathered in front of the community center to thank the team that raised funds and awareness to build much-needed housing.

In addition to the opening of the village, the group also visited the poor in an area called Shadda, near Cap-Haitien. The garbage-filled landscape there is peppered with crude shacks, unclothed children dirty from the mud, and mothers whose eyes have been robbed of any hope. Shadda literally means misery in Creole, and it was a stark contrast to the new village.

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Dust off those sneakers -- if you haven't already -- and get ready to run, jog or walk your way 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 is set to kick-off Saturday, Sept. 24 at 6 a.m. at Quiet Waters Park located at 401 South Powerline Road in Deerfield Beach. Every step taken by each participant will be a step towards raising much needed funds to feed families facing severe malnutrition in the Caribbean and Latin America.

But in order to help, you must register to participate. Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/walk to sign up, start a team or make a donation. Take advantage of the "Participant Center" to create a fundraising page, share your goal with family, friends, coworkers and contacts, while you monitor your progress.

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This Mother's Day, celebrate your mom by giving her a gift that honors her legacy and improves the lives of mothers in developing countries. From child sponsorship opportunities, to milk-producing goats and sewing machines used for micro-enterprise, Food For The Poor's online catalog is brimming with unique gift options for every budget.

For $34 a month you can share a mother's love by sponsoring a child through Food For The Poor's Angels Of Hope program. Your gift will provide orphaned and abandoned children throughout the Caribbean and Latin America with food, shelter and access to medical care and an education. The charity has expanded its Angels Of Hope program, so now there are more children than ever in need of monthly sponsors.

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As a hobbyist quilter, Mary Pat Palombo feels at ease behind her Singer sewing machine. But she still remembers feeling helpless as she watched destitute Nicaraguan women trek for miles in search of water for their families to drink. That life-changing experience, which still brings tears to her eyes, inspired Palombo to sew high-fashion tote bags for the nonprofit Food For The Poor.

Listening to contemporary classical pianist Ann Sweeten, and using bold-colored fabrics with eye-catching patterns, Palombo is determined to channel her talents to empower women by raising funds to have a water well drilled in a remote village in Haiti. Palombo's tote bags are available for a minimum donation of $70 toward her water project. One hundred percent of proceeds will be donated to Food For The Poor.

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It's been 12 years in the making, and now 13 strangers from varied backgrounds will be forever united after making a commitment to help the poorest of the poor in Honduras. The group decided to put words into action, and fund a home building project after traveling with Food For The Poor on its first mission trip to the Central American country in early April.

"I was at my happiest on this trip when we as a group were doing something to help the people," said Jeanne Johnson, a volunteer from Kansas. "I was so pleased that we actually got to do projects instead of driving past the people and observing from afar."

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Just a few days into 2010, one of the largest disasters in modern history devastated Haiti. In response, the leading provider of aid to Haiti, Food For The Poor, sent 1,461 tractor-trailer loads of food, water, medicines and other lifesaving relief aid valued at $188.9 million. While Haiti dominated headlines for much of the year, the nonprofit continued to send supplies to the other 16 countries served in the Caribbean and Latin America.

In total, the nation's third-largest international relief and development agency provided more than $1 billion in aid to the poor in 2010.

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Since the inception of Food For The Poor's Prison Ministry Program in 1998, Food For The Poor has assisted in freeing, training and reintroducing prisoners back into the community as productive citizens.

Food For The Poor has released 85 nonviolent offenders in Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica in time to spend Holy Week with their families. These prisoners were incarcerated due to their inability to pay the required fines, even though the amounts are minimal. Sometimes by the time they are tried, they have spent years longer in jail than their prison sentence requires.

"Prison conditions and poverty are drastically worse in developing countries than they are in the United States," said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. "Overcrowded prisons are common, and perpetuate the spread of disease and violence. Through Food For The Poor's Prison Ministry program, we want to help nonviolent offenders make a fresh start."

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Thanks to a group of our generous donors, you now have the power to feed twice as many hungry children, to provide the food they so desperately need to survive.

Send your gift before this Sunday -- Easter -- and it will be matched, dollar-for-dollar. To help, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/eastergift.

Haitian Marie Geleen and her baby, Nelanda, 1, are pictured here. They live in an area that grows rice, but they can't find any buyers for their rice, so there is no money for fruits, vegetables, and protein. Last year's rice crop was spoiled by floods, so there is even less food than normal. Like thousands of other Haitian children, the young Gelens are suffering from malnutrition, slowly starving to death.

You can provide lifesaving food to starving children today and provide nutrition to children who have nothing. Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/eastergift today to help.

More than 780 children in Haiti will be fed for six months, thanks to the generosity of Friends of WLRN and compassionate public radio listeners. For every $100 committed by supporters who called to make a donation on March 17, Friends of WLRN sent $18 to Food For The Poor.

At a time when soaring food and fuel prices are threatening nonprofits' ability to get lifesaving food to the poor, the March 17 campaign was especially appreciated by the international development and relief agency.

"This gift of money for food could not have come at a better time," said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. "Everything is costing more, and these children are depending on us to give them simple meals that will give them life and hope for one more day. We are very grateful for the support of Friends of WLRN and 91.3 WLRN."

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For the third year, Lynn University's Students For The Poor slept, ate and studied on the university's lawn inside tents and a structure that portrays housing built by Food For The Poor in developing countries. By sleeping outside and limiting themselves to one meal of rice and beans a day the week of April 4-7, they brought attention to deplorable living conditions that exist in developing countries.

"While they are not going to starve, they will be hungry – while they will not be wet or cold, they will be inconvenienced by sleeping on the ground," said Dan Hennessey, vice-president of Lynn University's Students For The Poor, describing the state of the students mid-week. "The idea is by the end of the week students will be a little more cognizant of those who are less fortunate."

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