'Food For the Poor using 5K to launch major fund drive'
BY INGRID BROWN
Associate Editor
Special Assignment browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Food For the Poor (FFP) Jamaica is now turning to the private sector for assistance in raising funds to meet the demands of the ever growing list of people in need of shelter and other vital services.
The local charity is using a 5K walk/run, to be staged next month, as the starting point to kick off the new initiative to get buy-in of corporate Jamaica to assist in this area.
Chairman of Food For the Poor Jamaica Andrew Mahfood said the aim of the 5K walk/run is to raise funds that will help make the non-profit organisation a little less reliant on its Florida-based parent company.
"The idea is to raise as much as we can through our 5K, really connect to Jamaica more than we have and raise funds to begin to start becoming a little more self-sufficient rather than just relying on Florida," Mahfood said.
Mahfood, who along with his team, was addressing the weekly Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper's head office in Kingston, explained that the parent company is willing to match every US$3,200 FFP Jamaica raises from the 5K walk/run, which is half the cost of building a house.
"They have funds they can earmark for 300 homes and if we don't take that up as a country it will go to another one of the 17 countries that Food For the Poor serves," he explained.
"We really are hoping for a huge turnout. We are hoping for huge sponsors from corporate Jamaica," he said, noting that it will take some significant donations to come close to its goal of US$960,000, which is what they would be required to raise to build the targeted 300 houses.
"It is an overly ambitious target, but if we could get it, it's Jamaican families that would benefit," he said.
According to Mahfood, the plan is to begin selling to companies the importance of contributing to Food For the Poor.
"One of the things we are going to be doing is going to the boardrooms of corporate Jamaica and pitching to them that we can help them to have more effect with their funds... as we can execute better than their foundations can," Mahfood said.
The chairman said a lot of companies that do great work in Jamaica tend to look at Food For the Poor as an organisation which may not need financial assistance.
Mahfood said the charity is prepared to partner with some of these companies to execute co-branded projects if they so choose.
"If a corporate entity wants to help it can be co-branded if the donor wants that, but in terms of raising funds we want to get over that hurdle where more of corporate Jamaica see that we can execute better and more cost-effective than any other organisation in Jamaica," he said.
Meanwhile, Mahfood said it is not that funding is drying up from its parent company, which consistently continues to take on more projects from Jamaica.
Executive Director of Food For the Poor David Mair said as a Jamaican organisation it is important to get corporate Jamaica involved.
"I just think the awareness needs to be more here, and the start of it is going with the 5K. Once we get through that and people start to understand how important it is to help the needy here, then we will start a marketing process of going around to corporate Jamaica and sitting in the boardrooms and talking and seeing what kinds of funds we can get," he told the Exchange.
"Poverty is a Jamaican problem because we are in Jamaica and the corporate entities need to understand that helping us alleviate the poverty here is going to help them in the long run also."
Marketing Manager Marsha Burrell said people who are unable to participate in the 5K walk/run can still make online donations via the organisation's website.
"We really want to get the message out there that we need the support of corporate Jamaica to come onboard with us," she said.
The event, which will be staged on May 9 under the theme 'Changing Lives - Restoring Families', will begin with a warm-up at 6:00 am at Emancipation Park. Race start time is 6:30 am and will see participants leaving Emancipation Park to Oxford Road, on to Old Hope Road, Seaview Avenue to Lady Musgrave Road, Trafalgar Road to Knutsford Boulevard and end at Emancipation Park.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/We-need-help_18751255
Very good idea and I'll definitely support by sharing. Go fund me may also be an element to consider.
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