I, like many of you, have watched the horrors unfold as the reality of the devastation in Haiti becomes overwhelmingly apparent. If you are like me, you want to do something tangible. The three most critical needs right now are medical supplies, food and water. I am writing to offer you an opportunity to do something tangible to help people who are starving. On Friday – Sunday, February 5-7, I am coordinating a 1 MILLION meal food packaging event sponsored by WSU and the Elliott School of Communication and in collaboration with Numana Inc at WSUs Hughes Metroplex. Numana is the organization that has been hosting the food packaging events at the El Dorado Civic Center. Some of you may have even taken part in those events. (If you have, I invite you to consider being a part of my elite coordination team.) Numana partners with the Salvation Army which delivers the food to the U.S. military which airlifts it into Haiti. Some of the food we packaged last weekend in El Dorado is already on the ground and Numana was featured on both Glen Beck’s show and The Today Show. I am writing to you today to ask for your help and support. I know that many of you, like me, desire to “make a difference”. This is an opportunity to do just that.

There are a number of opportunities available to help:

1) You can donate money to purchase the food we will pack, a mix of rice, soy, dried veggies and a 21 vitamin/mineral tablet designed to meet the nutritional needs and support the immune systems of people who are starving. Donate at Numanainc.com

2) On Thursday afternoon/evening, Feb 4, we need to unload all the food and prepare the room for the next day. That evening we will also have training for the elite coordination team so that we all have the opportunity to practice before the event begins the next day. You can sign up to help with the pre-event work, to be on the elite team, to package food, etc. at Numanainc.com. Just indicate what you would like to do and when in the comment section.

3) If you belong to a group or organization, you can reserve a full table (12-14 people) for two hours and package. IT’S SUCH A FUN AND LIGHT-HEARTED ATMOSPHERE. PEOPLE FEEL GOOD WHEN THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT MATTERS. You can, of course, reserve more than one table, or work longer than 2 hours if we want to. You can sign up for whatever you want to do.

4) If you don’t have 12-14 people who can take part at the same time, no biggie, you can sign up a smaller group for a two hour period (or as long as we wish) and work together on a table

5) You can sign up yourself, or just drop in to package food. We’ll fit you in and show you how!

6) If you saw fit, you could “sponsor” a table for a period of time. The estimate is that a fast moving table can package about $1000 worth of food in one hour. You could sponsor a table for an hour or two and, if you wanted, also pack the food you sponsor.

7) Many businesses match donations or have PR divisions that are looking for community engagement opportunities. If your business matches donations or would like to become a corporate sponsor of this event, please let me know!

8) On Sunday night, we will also need a post-event team to tear down after the event.

9) If you’d like to be part of the elite coordination team, what Numana calls “green shirts” (because we wear green. That will mean a longer commitment and your willingness to play a coordinating function).

Numana has announced the largest event yet for this coming Saturday and Sunday at the KS Coliseum. In addition to the opportunity to package food like in prior events, they are also offering opportunities for people to be trained as “green team” (our elite coordination team) members. You can sign up to be trained in any area that interests you and practice at the KS Coliseum event this weekend Saturday, Jan. 23 (8am to 6pm) & Sunday, January 24 (1-7pm). If you sign up to help at the Coliseum, please make sure to put WSU team in the comment section if you’d like to help with the WSU event also. You can also sign up for the WSU event and donate to purchase food at Numanainc.com.

However you decide to be involved, know that you are providing food to people in desperate conditions. I invite you to join me in making a difference.  If you are personally unable to help, please pass this information on to others who might be interested. We estimate that we will need 3000 people to meet our goal of packaging 1 MILLION meals in 2 1/2 days!

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment on this blog.