Puffin West is one of the Sponsors of Columbus Metropolitan Club’s June 18th lunch-time Forum “Champion of Children”. Go to www.columbusmetroclub.org for reservations.
The poverty rate in Columbus Metro area has grown to 18% and basic needs costs have shot up 23% since 2008 while median income has only increased by 2%. Basic Needs include only day-to-day necessities: housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, payroll and income taxes, and a little more for other necessities such as clothing and school supplies. They do not include durable goods – such as furniture or household appliances – nor enrichment activities, entertainment, or other expenses that improve a family’s quality of life. They do not allow for investments in a family’s future, such as savings for a home, a child’s education, or a parent’s retirement. And they do not provide any resources to pay off debt nor a financial cushion to withstand a crisis. Nonetheless, even these budgets are beyond the reach of many working families.
Food Security for all ColumbuSons and Daughters should be our priority. “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for the minds and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”-Martin Luther King, Jr., American Civil Rights Leader
“Hunger is not an issue of charity. It is an issue of justice.”– Jacques Diouf, Food and Agricultural Organization Director-general
“If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.”– Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut
“We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich and two-thirds hungry.”– Jimmy Carter
“The war against hunger is truly mankind’s war of liberation.”– John F. Kennedy
“For now I ask no more Than the justice of eating.”– Pablo Neruda, Chilean Poet, Noble Prize Winner
“Hunger is actually the worst weapon of mass destruction. It claims millions of victims each year.” – Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
PUFFIN WEST BELIEVES: “Never doubt a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”– Margaret Mead, American anthropologist
We are all in this world together. Change starts with one person at a time. Join the conversation. See you on June 18th.
