Thanks to loyal friends and generous partners, Convoy of Hope served a record 8 million people in 2016 and saw more donated product come in and be distributed than ever before. There were other significant milestones too, including:
More than 80 million people served since 1994
47,000+ volunteers
50 Field Teams with more than 650 team members
160,000-plus children fed
Because of their friends’ kindness, Convoy was able to share hope to millions around the world — like Sheri.
Sheri, 7, and her family live at the base of a toxic garbage range in the Philippines. Their home is nothing but flimsy scraps of plywood, tattered sheets of plastic and bamboo strips held together by rusty nails and ropes. This is no place for children — especially ones whose parents can’t afford to send them to school.
When Convoy first met Sheri, she was undernourished and sad because she didn’t have food and wasn’t in school. She spent her days caring for her little brother and wondering if she would ever get to go to school.
Because of generous friends, Convoy was able to enroll Sheri in the Children’s Feeding Initiative. Today, her health, life, and future are secure with daily meals, clean drinking water, and wonderful days in school.
This newfound way of living has energized her and left a wide smile on her face.
Convoy of Hope will continue to work diligently to spread kindness to those they serve and others — focusing on a theme of kindness for 2017 and 2018.
Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope has a new book titled Your Next 24 Hours — One Day of Kindness Can Change Everything. Through powerful stories of kindness lived out, this book shows the enormous difference a person can make through small acts of kindness that can transform entire communities. Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to be kind.
The Convoy team is living out this kindness not only with their work throughout the world, but also through kindness events in Springfield, Missouri, where they are based — including visits to college campuses to pass out snacks and copies of the book to students free of charge.
They also encourage their followers to participate in Random Acts of Kindness Week, Feb. 13-17, with daily challenges on social media including: paying it forward, complimenting a stranger, and more.
“All of us can be part of a growing movement, where kindness offers hope, heals wounds, combats loneliness, and restores what is broken,” says Donaldson. “May Your Next 24 Hours inspire you to awaken each day more determined than ever to be a force for good.”
To learn more, follow Convoy of Hope on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, or visit convoyofhope.org.
IMAGE – Sheri is one of the children Convoy of Hope helped last year.
(Source: AG World News)
