You don’t even have to be good at math to figure this one out.

The answer is Allison!

Allison just finished her masters degree studies in Public Service, with an emphasis in Non-Profit Management.  Combine that with her service to the poor and hungry around the world and you have an equation for tons of positive impact!  As the latest addition to our volunteer internship program, Allison will be able to pursue her passion to help others see and understand the orphan crisis.  She’ll also add tremendous depth to Rice Bowls special projects like grant writing, new fundraising strategies and preparing press releases.

We’re super excited to add Allison to our team as we subtract hunger from the world - one child at a time!

A Ten-Bowl Challenge. That’s what Paul Mallory (Arlington, TX) set out to accomplish in December of last year. He challenged 9 other families to join him in providing YUM for as many kids as possible.  Before long, these families were jumping on board. When it was all said and done, nearly 20 families took part in his Rice Bowls Family Challenge. Paul captured some thoughts from 3 families who participated:

 “We started putting our loose change in the bowl at the end of the day. For us, since we don’t have kids, it was nice knowing that something so “insignificant” to us, something we really take for granted, and most of the time don’t even count in our “cash on hand,” means life for another human being.”

“My girls are so funny - they didn’t even know what we did! Putting spare change

in a bowl was such an easy way to give and it went unnoticed until we filled our bowl. It was neat to tell them it was enough money to feed someone for quite a while. It’s amazing how an insignificant thing to us can become quite significant when done with others.”

“The challenge was a great project for our family! It made us think about our “change” in a whole new way, and it prompted some wonderful conversations with our two boys. It was just another real-life example for us, and provided some teachable moments. The kids were amazed that something so simple – some loose change, a few coins or dollar bills that just sit around or get tossed somewhere, could actually be used to feed a hungry child. Unfortunately, we take all of those things for granted much too often. Something small (or someone small for that matter) can make a big, big difference and that’s not small at all!”

 In the end, Paul’s Rice Bowls Family Challenge raised enough money one orphaned child for 11 months! That’s nearly a year!  Family Challenges are a great way to support Rice Bowls. They offer the opportunity for families to talk about how seemingly small things can deliver in big ways. So, why not order 10 bowls, invite 9 families to join you and get started on the next series of small things brought together?

                                                                                                                                                                      Her favorite flower is the sunflower. And just look at that face. It’s as bright and beautiful as any flower on the planet! Nishmitha is an active 5 year-old who dreams of one day becoming a doctor. She lives at one of our partner homes in Bangalore, India. Because of the loving care and nutritious food she receives every day, Nishmitha’s dream may one day come true. Instead of dealing with the harsh realities so many other orphaned children face, her days are filled with learning, laughing, loving, and following her dreams - just like the sunflower follows the sun as its makes it path across the sky.

                                                                                                                           The Crave Students, from Frazer United Methodist Church in Montgomery, don’t just confine their mission-minded selves to “Sweet Home, Alabama.”  Instead, they relentlessly search for ways to reach out and serve others around the world. It’s through their searching that they came across Rice Bowls. Because orphaned children need a voice - someone to speak up for them and to care for their needs - a partnership with us was a perfect fit.

They took on the challenge to feed an entire orphanage for a whole year!  Brian, their youth pastor, said, “Considering it would take $30,000 to feed these beautiful children, we knew this would only be possible through the call of God, and our students answered the call amazingly!”  The students pursued countless ways to raise the funds.  The students gave birthday gifts of cash, held a dodge ball tournament to benefit their YUM challenge, sold hoodies and even finished the year with a Christmas Benefit Dinner.  This entire project helped created a greater awareness to the needs of orphaned children.

 The Crave students not only met their goal, they exceeded it!  And maybe the best part of the challenge is that they now have an eternal bond with some loving children they may never meet.

We know God loves the fatherless more than we do. We know our calling is to feed the child who is hungry and unprotected. This past year we’ve remained faithful in feeding orphans around the world, but we are not resting in the fact that we’re feeding children in 52 different children’s home in 8 countries.  Instead, we want to serve more and give more.

Many of you have already joined us and many more will come along side us in 2013. We’ve experienced an increase in corporate sponsors and business campaigns.  We’ve partnered with churches and schools who want to do more than just the normal mission project. We launched Go Give Yum trips!  And we’ve seen sports teams step up and get in the game! 

We encourage you to stay creative and keep finding fresh ways to fight hunger with us. Check out this Rice Bowl Christmas Tree from Wesley UMC.  Together, with Upward Sports, their teams are providing lots of happy meals! 

On behalf of the staff at Rice Bowls, our partners and the children who eat 3 meals a day because of you, we’d like to say — Yummy Christmas! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Victoria had been saving change in a one-gallon jar for two years.  She told us her original plan was to use it for a tattoo, but that she had also considered using it for a family vacation.  As time went on, she said, “Lately, I had been thinking we really need to use it for groceries.”

After hearing about Rice Bowls, Victoria said, “I figured I’d fill 1 or 2 (bowls), leaving plenty of change for other things.”  But that’s when another change happened.  Victoria was immediately reminded of the story from Mark 12:44, where a poor widow gives what little money she has – all of it.  But, she thought, “I wasn’t totally sold on giving up what I had saved for so long.”  Later that week, she read about King David refusing to give a sacrificial offering that hadn’t cost him anything, and knew she had to give everything in the change jar to help feed orphans, holding nothing back and trusting God to provide for her and her family.

Change jar.  Changed heart.  Changing lives.

Sajina playing games in Andra Pradesh

We love orphaned children and want to serve them. It’s important to see first-hand the homes we partner with, for the sake of accountability and to establish long term relationships with each director and staff members. We also want to be there to help feed them, not just give healthy meals by sending a check. We go so that we can eat with them, go to the market with them, help them carry bags of rice, or do some gardening!  Of course we like to play too! Soccer, piggyback rides, and a game of chase gives us time to get to know the children. Kids eat and kids play; we want to join them in both.

We’re headed out with a team to Nicaragua this December, and then on to India the summer of 2013! Contact us if you’re interested. Let’s Go Give Yum!

 Dodd helping with lunch in Nicaragua

The children in Haiti helping Bryan edit photos

 John eating Briyani with the children in Chennai

 Enjoy Injera, a staple with most of the meals that our children in Ethiopia eat. It has the consistency of a pancake but is softer and not as thick. Injera is made of a nutrient rich grain called Teff. It has a excellent balance of amino acids, so it’s high in protein, and also has plenty of calcium, and iron! It is often placed flat on a plate or bowl with the rest of the meal placed on top. Make injera tonight and pray for the orphans of Ethiopia.
 
Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup teff flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• a pinch of salt
• peanut or vegetable oil

 Heat a skillet and prepare the mix like you would a pancake. When holes begin to appear, your injera is ready to be removed. Allow to cool, then serve it up topped with your favorite stew!

‘When most orphaned children are abandoned by their parents, they are hardly equipped to survive the hazards of everyday living and begging on the streets. Some of the hazards they face include physical injuries from vehicular accidents, harassment from both extortionists and police, recurring sickness, street fighting, abuse, exploitation, early exposure to illegal substances, fatal diseases, and food scarcity.

We’re thankful for our partners who not only protect these vulnerable children from these hazards, but also give them an education, healthcare, a loving home & 3 meals a day!

Meet one of these children that is being loved and cared for in our partner orphanage in the Philippines.

Ashrea loves to sing! She is 7 years old and in the 2^nd grade. At meal time her favorite food is papaya and pineapple!

Not only does Omni have great hair…but he has genuine talent.  We’ve essentially turned him loose to create cool new shirts for the Rice Bowls store and he’s helping develop an snappy online campaign tool that will help us all fight hunger together.
 
When he’s not heads down in his classwork, finishing his degree, or creating great designs for Rice Bowls, Omni also designs games.  Check out his first release!
 
We’re super pumped to have Omni on our Yum Giving team for the summer.