Join Cindy Klassen in sponsoring a harvest to end hunger
New Foodgrains Bank and MCC campaign invites all Canadians to become farmers
Canadians know Cindy Klassen as an Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater. But now she’s a farmer, too.
“This year, I’m helping provide food for hungry people around the world by trading in my skates and becoming a farmer,” she says. “And I invite others to join me!”
Klassen isn’t actually going to drive a tractor, plant seeds and then harvest a crop.
Instead, she’s providing $300 to pay for the costs of growing one acre on a farm in southern Manitoba through Grow Hope, a new joint project of Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba and Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
After harvest, the crop will be sold for as much as $500 per acre, which will then be deposited into the MCC account in the Foodgrains Bank.
When MCC withdraws the funds for its programs in the developing world, it can be matched up to 4:1 by the Canadian government—the $300 sponsorship can grow into as much as $2,500 when used for humanitarian aid.
“In other words, these gifts will grow, both literally as a crop rises from the ground, and financially as the crop is sold and matched by the Canadian government,” says Brad Reimer, who directs Communications & Donor Relations for MCC Manitoba.
The goal of Grow Hope is to invite churches, families and individuals to help people who are hungry in the developing world by joining Klassen in sponsoring an acre.
“Sponsors will get updates about the crop through the growing season and have access to educational, worship and devotional resources about farming, food and hunger,” Reimer says.
“We think this is an excellent and powerful way for a Sunday school class, small group, or for the whole church to help people who don’t have enough to eat.”
Sponsors who live in southern Manitoba will also be invited to come to the farm to see the crops harvested at the end of the growing season.
Funds raised by Grow Hope will be used by MCC to respond to food emergencies, to help people in the developing world achieve food security, or to provide nutritious food for mothers and children.
People who want to be part of Grow Hope can learn more and sign up here or call MCC at 1-888-622-6337.
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Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger. In the 2013-14 budget year, the Foodgrains Bank provided $42 million of assistance for 1.2 million people in 42 countries. Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects are undertaken with matching support from the Government of Canada. Assistance from the Foodgrains Bank is provided through its member agencies, which get matching funds through their accounts in the Foodgrains Bank for programs implemented by local partners in the developing world.
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