Dear 5th Bridge Pledgers,

We hope you are all having a fantastic summer full of family, friends and new adventures. Please don’t forget to take a little time to make a difference by volunteering.

Mark your calendars: 5th Bridge is hosting the second annual Feed My Starving Children Mobile Food Packing Unit right here in Northfield at the Armory, October 2–4, 2008.

Last year’s event was wildly successful! Nearly 800 Northfield volunteers packaged over 205,000 meals and Northfield donors contributed over $22,500 towards the cost of the raw ingredients. These meals were then distributed to starving children and families around the world. The best part was that each person left the event with a smile on their face knowing that they played a tangible role in helping to alleviate global hunger.

If you’ve been following the news you know that the cost of rice, fuel and other staples is rapidly rising around the world, causing even greater food shortages in impoverished countries. As a result, the raw ingredient cost for Feed My Starving Children’s meals has risen from 15 cents per meal to 17 cents per meal. A 2-cent increase may not seem like much, but it translates into 1.3 million additional dollars that FMSC must raise just to maintain the number of meals they distributed last year. They need help from communities like Northfield that are blessed with abundance.

Our theme for this year’s event is Share the Bounty, and our goal is to pack 225,000 meals and raise $38,000 to cover the cost of the ingredients. The average volunteer packs an estimated $30–$40 of raw ingredients. Each and every volunteer will be asked to contribute towards the cost to the extent they are able. Recognizing that many youth groups, families and low income people will not be able to contribute the full cost of the meals they will pack, we are seeking sponsorships to fill the gap, but we need each person to contribute as much as they can. If you’re short on cash, here are a few ways you can raise money this summer for the Feed My Starving Children event:

• Get some friends together and hold a car wash.
• Clean out your basement, closets and garage, then host a garage sale.
• Hold a neighborhood pet wash.
• Kids might earn money for their donation by doing chores around the house or by helping neighbors with lawn care, pet care or other chores.
• Collect your family’s spare change in a jar or container between now and the first weekend in October.

Here are some other current volunteer opportunities:

Time is running short, the America in Bloom competition judging is in late July, and there is so much work to be done. Members of the committee and many volunteers are continuing to work hard to see that Northfield does well in the competition, but they need your help. A complete list of volunteer needs is posted on our website, www.5thbridge.org. Please check it out and lend a hand.

Do you sew? Do you have scraps of material waiting for a use? Are you learning to sew or teaching others? Would you like to have a simple sewing project that contributes to others? EPIC Enterprises, Inc. needs a collection of bean bags. EPIC Enterprises is a provider of services for adults with developmental disabilities. Donated bean bags of any size, shape or design will be used for a number of games and sensory stimulation activities. If you’re interested in helping, please see that the bean bags are filled with nontoxic materials (like beans or rice). Neil would happy to pick up the finished product, or you could drop them off at EPIC and see the joy your skills bring to the organization’s adult patients. For more information, please contact Neil Rowley at 507-645-6462 or e-mail nlr5757@yahoo.com.

Hope Center needs volunteers to provide on-site childcare during weekly support meetings in Faribault. See their posting on our website, www.5thbridge.org, or call Kari at 507-332-0882.

Northfield Senior Center needs fitness volunteers and cleaners. Check out the posting at www.5thbridge.org or call Gale at 507-664-3702.

You will find lots of other service ideas on our website.

Have an “utterly joyful” summer of service. Don’t forget to invite your friends to take the 5th Bridge Volunteer Pledge and experience the “utter joy” of sharing your gifts and talents.

Sincerely,

Candy Taylor and your friends at 5th Bridge