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Make Your Mark on Hunger with generationOn

ConAgra Foods Foundation to donate up to 20,000 meals to Feeding America

By Sponsored Content April 22, 2015
Eight-year-old Mae Zimmer saw the tough reality of poverty and hunger recently when she visited the two-bedroom, one-bath home of a refugee family of nine living in Dallas. 

The visit, hosted by Refugee Services of Texas, was the first time Mae had ever heard of refugees.

“The apartment was shocking; they didn't have light,” said Michelle Chase, Mae's mom. “We talked about that for a long time.”

Mae felt moved to help refugees in her community, starting with hunger.

In April, she will lead 10 to 15 children in stocking the cupboards of another refugee family with food her group buys from a grocery store.

“Nobody really thinks about refugees and how hungry they can get,” Mae said. “We'll make sure refugee families don't go hungry.”

Mae’s project is part of Make Your Mark on Hunger, a spring campaign run by generationOn that challenges kids and teens to address child hunger through meaningful, hands-on service in their communities. For each youth engaged in service, the ConAgra Foods Foundation will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to the nonprofit Feeding America, up to 20,000 meals.

Mae is one of thousands of kids and teens across the country joining generationOn to fight hunger and one of the hundreds of thousands who take part in generationOn’s programming on a yearly basis. The youth division of Points of Light, generationOn works to inspire, equip and mobilize young people to make their mark on the world through service. 

To make it easy for parents and caregivers to get their kids involved, generationOn offers project ideas, fact sheets and reflection materials designed to help parents, teachers or adult mentors educate the kids in their lives about important issues like hunger, take action to address them, and reflect on how their work made a difference. 

Mae, who has been volunteering since the age of 4, believes in the power of volunteering to change lives, through actions big or small. “Fighting hunger can start with baby steps,” she said.

“Every time someone goes to the grocery store, they could pick up an extra meal and give it to someone in need,” Mae said. “And that way no one would be hungry.”

Join generationOn and families across the country in fighting hunger through youth service. Go to generationOn.org/hunger to learn more and get involved.