By our Smarty friends at The Lunch Project
How would you like a free, flexible program that fills up an “I’m bored” day with learning a new culture and the value of service? A fun, hands-on way to encourage empathy in your children this summer?
Check out The Lunch Project’s 3rd annual Summer of Service and register now!
The Lunch Project is a local non-profit (run by some Smarty Moms, one who happens to be our 2K14 Smarty Mom of the Year:- ) that empowers kids everywhere.
In Tanznia, The Lunch Project supports community-run lunch programs at primary schools with few resources. It’s a win-win-win because food is purchased from local farmers, cooked by Maasai mamas who earn a living wage to cook a traditional meal for their community’s own children, and Maasai kids get the fuel to learn in school!
In America, kids can participate in Summer of Service to help kids just like themselves…but on the other side of the globe! Past SOS projects have included lemonade stands, bake sales, a talent show, soccer tournament, fun run, read-a-thon, tea parties, neighborhood movie night…and more! But each family brings their own creativity to Summer of Service.
It costs The Lunch Project just $85 to feed a school of 900+ children in Tanzania. Amazing, right? At 9 cents per meal, every one of every size can make a REAL difference! YOUR kids could feed kids in Africa this summer! Imagine how that would make them feel…
That’s where Summer of Service comes in. SOS is a relatable way for kids to help and an attainable goal. Families will watch 3 short on-line videos. They’ll learn about Maasai culture. They’ll be asked “What do you love to do? How can you use that to help?” Your family designs your own kid-led project. Everyone who registers receives Getting Started materials including a free t-shirt, so they know they are a part of something bigger than themselves. Projects are celebrated on social media all summer long.
“We’ve found that kids in America really relate to The Lunch Project because they know how hard it is to focus in school, right before lunch, when they are hungry. They feel empathy for Tanzanian kids who don’t eat at all during a school day. They want to help” says Rebecca Wofford, Founder and Director of The Lunch Project, “and kids really light up when they receive their personalized Thank You from Tanzania.”
And Summer of Service couldn’t be easier! It all happens on your own timeframe to fit around camps and vacation schedules. (Tip: Register now and keep this in your back pocket. You’ll be ready for the first “I’m bored” day this summer!)
1. Register for free at www.thelunchproject.org/sos.
2. Drop by a “Packet Pick-Up” between June 6-30 to receive materials and free t-shirts. (Details come when you register.)
3. Watch three short (3-5 minute) videos as a family.
4. Plan & Execute your family’s own kid-led, fun summer service project!
Get Support and Share Your Success with The Lunch Project!
5. Receive a personalized Thank You picture from the kids in Tanzania!
Kids can help TLP anytime, but summer, when schedules relax and creativity blossoms, brings a unique opportunity to put your family’s values into action.
The first packet pickup for materials and t-shirts will be on June 6, 8-noon at St John’s Episcopal Church, 1623 Carmel Road. At the event kids can begin learning about the lives of Maasai children and decorate a bowl to collect change for The Lunch Project. Other packet pickups will follow throughout June. At 9 cents a meal, every effort made makes a real difference in the life of a child!
Free registration is at www.thelunchproject.org/sos.
For more information email SOS@thelunchproject.org or visit www.thelunchproject.org.
