CHILDREN HELPING CHILDREN: SCHOOL TO HELP FEED KIDS AROUND THE WORLD DURING SERVICE PROJECT

DEC. 1, 2015: Capistrano Valley Christian Schools (CVCS) will help hungry children around the globe on Dec. 18. Elementary students at CVCS will make sure 18,000 pre-packaged meals are prepared for children in over 18 countries as part of the school’s service project for Kids Around the World’s OneMeal initiative. From 9 a.m. to noon, about 160 CVCS elementary students will form an assembly line at the school in San Juan Capistrano to package meals for children that find themselves in situations out of their control—economic stress, political injustice, natural disasters, and even war.

“This is the first year for an elementary-wide event,” said Taylor Merrick, the school’s PACE volunteer (a parent volunteer organization) who leads this service project. She is also the mother of three daughters who will participate in the life-changing program. “I’m excited about the opportunity for our students to have a hands-on experience of serving these children and gaining a heart for global missions. I feel the double benefit of the project is that during this season our students catch a small glimpse of how much we have to share and how we give in thankful response to the gift of our Savior coming to earth at Christmas.”

CVCS is the perfect partner for the Christian-based Kids Around the World organization, which provides the training and food material so that organizations can prepare the packets. CVCS is working with Mike Stock, regional food program director for Kids Around the World for the West Coast. Kids Around the World, based in Rockford, Ill., notes that every minute 12 children die from starvation. Kids Around the World was formed to be part of the solution to world hunger.

The students will work in teams to assemble meal bags—scooping, measuring, weighing and sealing bags filled with rice and soy mix fortified with 21 vitamins and minerals, six dehydrated vegetables and seasoning. According to Kids Around the World, this soy (52% protein) and nutrient rich formula reverses the starvation process and its effects.

Not only will the students prepare the meal packets to feed hungry children, they will have the opportunity to taste the meal during the school’s morning nutrition break on the day before the event. One food package contains six servings and can be prepared in less than 20 minutes by adding boiling water.

The countries served by Kids Around the World include the U.S. and such countries as Tanzania, Haiti, South Africa, Nicaragua, and developing countries around the globe.

The service project may just be the most satisfying meal the kids have ever prepared.

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