Hungry for Change

Approximately 800 million people across the globe go to bed hungry each night as a result of chronic malnourishment. This means that one in nine people do not have enough food to eat in order to live an active life.

For the past 35 years, various countries have come together to celebrate World Food Day on October 16 in order to declare their commitment to ending hunger and poverty. World Food Day is a tradition that was started by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This year’s theme centered around family farming and the role they play in diminishing worldwide hunger.

Each year supporters are encouraged to attend or host different events that promote the fight against hunger. Common events include food drives, hunger walks, conferences, hunger banquets and any other means of spreading awareness about the issue.

Many celebrities took action, showing their support for the cause through their own campaigns. One of the most successful initiatives was Michael Kors’ Watch Hunger Stop. The designer partnered with the United Nations’ World Food Programme to raise money for the organization’s school meals program.

Kors’ latest campaign includes offering free Watch Hunger Stop T-shirts at his stores around the world. Supporters must wear the shirt and post a picture on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #WatchHungerStop. For every image posted, Kors will donate 100 meals to a child facing hunger.

The one-for-one technique has proved to be an effective strategy for charitable causes. TOMS has been a successful example since 2006.

TOMS is a fashion-and-lifestyle brand that firmly believes in giving back to those in need. The company was started on the foundation that for every pair of shoes purchased, the company would give a new pair of shoes to a child suffering from poverty.

Since then, the brand has expanded to offer TOMS eyewear. With every pair of sunglasses purchased, the company helps to restore sight to visually impaired people. The company also recently launched a new opportunity to provide clean water to those in less developed areas with the purchase of coffee beans.

With this philanthropic state of mind, TOMS has provided over 35 million shoes to deprived children and helped to restore sight to over 250,000 people. Very rarely are companies able to reach the level of success that TOMS has while still being able to stick so closely to its values.

#universityofiowa #pressrelease #toms #michaelkors