Upcoming Oregon UN Association events for December

Sunday, Dec 6, 3:00 to 5:00 pm:  A special Human Rights Day program for all ages with an international flavor will begin at 3:00 pm with refreshments, viewing displays, and socializing.  This will be followed at 3:30 by music, a video, special activities including Thai Princess Dancers, and more.  There will be speeches by Greg Hamilton, President of Northwest Religious Liberty Assoc, and Koffi Dessou, Executive Assistant, City of Portland Office of Human Relations. Come to be inspired and to show your support for organizations promoting human rights around the world.  Location is Collins Hall, First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson St, Portland.  Admission is free.  Sponsored by UNA-USA Oregon Division and other organizations. 
 
Thursday, Dec 10, 5:00 to 8:00 pm:  Green and Fair Holiday Celebration at First United Methodist Church, 1838 SW Jefferson St, Portland.  This event is sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) and Oregon Interfaith Power and Light (OIPL) and will feature local snacks and handicrafts from overseas.  Learn about initiatives making a difference for the Earth.
 
Monday, Dec 14, 7:30 pm:  Stones Into Schools, a presentation by Greg Mortenson, author of the bestselling book Three Cups of Tea.  Mortenson will recount his ongoing efforts to promote peace through education and literacy by establishing schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  His book is said to be required reading for U.S. senior military commanders, Special Forces deploying to Afghanistan, and officers in counterinsurgency training at the Pentagon. This event will be at the Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, and tickets (probably $25 and up) will be available at the door or in advance from Ticketmaster.  More info available from Portland Arts & Lectures by calling 503-227-2583.

Oregon Food Bank Action Alert on After School Meal Program

The Afterschool Meal Program provides federal funding for meals served to children (up to age 18) at afterschool and youth development programs located in low-income areas.  Currently, only 13 states—including Oregon—are included in this important program.  This leaves afterschool programs in the remaining states without the resources to provide the nutritious food that children and teens need in order to continue learning throughout the afternoon, especially as more and more parents work longer and non-traditional hours, and children stay longer in care. 

The Afterschool Meal Program has been a huge success in Oregon.  We can make afterschool meals available in all states.  Please write or call Senators Wyden and Merkley and ask them to:

• Please co-sponsor the AFTERschool Meals Act, S. 990.
• Because more than one fifth of children in the US live in a food insecure home
• Because afterschool meals should be offered to children in all states to combat hunger and provide kids the food they need to grow and thrive

 Contact information:

 Senator Merkley

107 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C., 20510

 (202) 224-3753 

Senator Wyden

223 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

 (202) 224-5244 

CFor more information contact:

David Osborn

Public Policy Outreach Coordinator

dosborn@oregonfoodbank.org

Congressional Update 12/1

 

Fresh Bread
Update on Washington during the 111^th Congress
December 1, 2009

In this Issue

Dr. Rajiv Shah nominated for USAID administrator S. 1524 passes out of committee Nearly one in four U.S. children were food insecure in 2008

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• On November 24, the administration launched the Feed a Neighbor initiative to raise awareness of hunger and encourage Americans to get involved in reducing hunger in their communities. A volunteer toolkit can be found online.
• President Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Rajiv Shah to head the U.S. Agency for International Development. Shah, 36, is the chief scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been working on the administration’s global hunger and food security initiative. Previously, he served as Director of Agricultural Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Shah’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was held today, December 1, 2009.  At Fresh Bread’s deadline, the senators had finished questioning Shah and will soon vote on his confirmation.

 

BREAD’S ISSUES

Foreign Assistance Reform

• On November 18, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed S.1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009, on a vote of 14-3. Committee chair Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said that “momentum on foreign assistance reform is reaching a crescendo” and noted that both Congress and the administration are involved.
• Bread members continue to urge their senators to cosponsor S. 1524. The bill now has 19 cosponsors.

FY10 Budget

• The current continuing resolution funds federal government agencies whose final appropriations bills have not yet been completed through December 18.
• Because the Senate is now focused solely on health care, it is becoming more likely that the seven remaining appropriations bills will be folded into a single year-end omnibus bill rather than negotiated individually.

U.S. Hunger and Food Insecurity

• On November 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released annual food security data for 2008.
• More than one in seven, or 14.6 percent of U.S. households, suffered from food insecurity in 2008. The 3.5 percentage point increase from 2007 is the largest one-year increase since the USDA first began publishing data.
• The situation was worse for children: 22.5 percent of children – nearly one in four – were food insecure. This is an increase of more than 4 million children over 2007, bringing the total to 16.7 million children.
• Details and analysis of the food security data, including state-by-state household food security rates and child hunger rates, are available on our Web site’s food security page at www.bread.org/foodsecurity.

 

Child Nutrition

• On November 17, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on “Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs:  Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health.”
• Vilsack outlined the administration’s priorities for reauthorization, which include reducing barriers to participation and improving access as well as improving nutrition. Many of the proposals he described are in line with Bread’s top priorities, such as strengthening direct certification and supporting states working to end child hunger.

ACT NOW

Send a Christmas card to your members of Congress. Wish them a Merry Christmas and ask them to make hunger a top priority as they return to work in Washington in January 2010.

Points to make:

• Hungry and poor people in our country have been hit hardest by the recession and rising unemployment. Currently, one in every nine Americans participates in our national nutrition safety net program, SNAP (formerly the Food Stamp Program).
• Global hunger is on the increase, beginning to reverse decades of progress against hunger. The United States has the power to help restore progress.

Send the Christmas cards to:

Sen. _____ U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20510

or

Rep. _____ U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515

Bread for the World Open House in Portland

The Portland-Based Bread for the World Western Regional Office has moved, and we’re inviting you to come see our new digs…

Bread for the World Open House
Wednesday, December 2

4 pm – 7 pm

325 NW 21st Ave.

Portland, OR 97209 (map)

It’ll be a great chance to connect with your friendly Portland-based staff, local Bread members, local anti-hunger advocates, and anyone interested in learning more about how to make a difference to end hunger in our time.

Feel free to drop by anytime between 4 pm and 7 pm on the 2nd. We’ll be serving hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, and we’d love to see you!

Peace and Blessings,


Shawnda, Robin, Matt, and Jessie

The Portland-Based Bread for the World Staff

Bread for the World
HAVE FAITH. END HUNGER.
325 NW 21st Ave. Suite 100
Portland, OR 97209
toll-free 888-75-BREAD
direct 503-922-2182
fax 503-766-3539
www.bread.org

Key Senate Committee Passes Foreign Assistance Reform Bill

Washington, DC, November 17, 2009 –The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today  took a concrete step towards making U.S. foreign assistance more effective by passing the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S.1524).

The committee’s passage of the bill this afternoon follows last week’s nomination of Dr. Raj Shah as administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  According to Rev. David Beckmann, president, Bread for the World, the bill will make important changes that would give the new administrator the necessary tools to lead U.S. development efforts.  

 ”Senator John Kerry and Senator Richard Lugar made a strong statement today about Congress’ commitment to elevating development as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy – distinct from diplomacy and defense,” said Rev. Beckmann. 

“We hope that the rest of the Senate follows the committee’s lead and approves the bill, and sends it to President Obama’s desk for his signature without delay,” added Rev. Beckmann.  “We urge leaders in the Obama administration to work closely with both the Senate and the House of Representatives on these reform efforts.” 

S.1524 would establish the promotion of global development, good governance, and the reduction of poverty and hunger as U.S. policy; rebuild the policy, strategic planning, and human resources capacity at USAID; and create an independent Council on Research and Evaluation of Foreign Assistance (CORE) to evaluate the impact of all U.S. foreign aid programs.

 

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Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation’s decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

Bread congressional update 10/10

Fresh Bread
Update on Washington during the 111^th Congress
November 10, 2009

In this Issue

Markup for S. 1524 postponed Bread President David Beckmann’s testimony SNAP and unemployment reach record highs

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• On November 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release annual food security data. Check Bread’s Web site later that day for our analysis and the latest statistics.  
• On November 17, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee during the hearing “Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs: Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health.”

BREAD’S ISSUES

Foreign Assistance Reform

• Bread members have been urging their senators to cosponsor S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009.  Currently, 18 senators have signed on to the bill.
• The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to mark up S.1524 on November 10. However, it has been postponed due to the memorial service for victims of the Ft. Hood shooting.  Committee staff hopes to reschedule the mark up for next Tuesday, November 17.
• H.R. 2139, the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009, now has a total of 121 cosponsors in the House.
• A sign-on letter urging President Obama to name an administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is being circulated to the full House by Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

Global Hunger and Food Security

• Bread President David Beckmann testified on October 29 at a hearing on food security before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
• He stressed that young children’s nutritional status should be a key way of measuring the effectiveness of the initiative. Beckmann’s full testimony is available on Bread’s Web site.

FY2010 Budget

• President Obama signed a second continuing resolution on November 6. It funds the federal government agencies whose final appropriations bills have not yet been completed through December 18.
• Seven of the 12 federal appropriations bills remain unfinished.

Child Hunger Goal

• Bread and other members of the National Anti-Hunger Organizations (NAHO) are preparing a “Roadmap to End Child Hunger.” The document outlines nine policy steps necessary to achieve the president’s goal of ending child hunger by 2015.
• In addition to calling for significant new investments in child nutrition programs in the upcoming reauthorization, the document lays out needed improvements to nutrition assistance, poverty reduction, and economic opportunity policies and programs.

FY11 Budget

• Early in February 2010, the administration will send Congress its budget request for fiscal year 2011, which begins October 1, 2010.
• Since federal agencies are already preparing the proposed budget, both the House and Senate are now circulating letters urging the administration to request a robust budget for international affairs. Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Richard Lugar (R-IN), along with Reps. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), are leading this effort.

Economy

• In August, more than 36 million people participated in SNAP (formerly the Food Stamp Program), the ninth consecutive month of record highs. This is an increase of nearly 24 percent over the year before.
• The nation’s unemployment rate reached 10.2 percent in October, the highest level in 26 years. More than one-third of the unemployed have been without a job for more than 26 weeks.
• Out of concern for long-term unemployed people who have exhausted their unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, President Obama signed a law on November 6 to extend UI benefits.
• The bill extends benefits by 14 weeks in all states and provides an additional six weeks of benefits in high-unemployment states (those with unemployment rates above 8.5 percent).

ACT NOW

• Continue to urge your senators to cosponsor S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009.
• Due to the delay in the markup of S. 1524, which had been scheduled for November 10, we have an additional week to secure Senate cosponsors.
• The bipartisan S. 1524 is an important initial step in making foreign assistance more effective. It formally states that it is U.S. policy to promote the reduction of poverty and hunger and contains provisions to revitalize and strengthen the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
• Send your letters to Senator ____, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Or call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
• For updated sample letters and more information on improving foreign assistance—Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters 2009—visit www.bread.org/OL2009.

 

Thanks Milwaukie Presbyterian

A big thanks goes out to Milw Pres for hosting me at their adult sunday school. Gave them an update on the foreign aid issue and made the call for more letters to Sen. Wyden to cosponsor.

Thanks again

Nov Oregon Food Bank advocacy alert

November 2009

• Ending hunger in after-school settings
• Celebrate the harvest
• Help support child nutrition programs

Upcoming Mercy Corps Events

Indonesia: A Journey from Megalopolis to Village – Fri – October 30, 2009
Join Mercy Corps’ Senior Writer Roger Burks for a lunchtime presentation in the Action Center. Roger will talk about his recent three-week journey through the world’s fourth most populous country with award-winning photographer Thatcher Cook, sharing his experience through photographs, personal observations and the stories of the people we serve. This is a brown bag, so bring your lunch and enjoy!

Friday, October 30th
Noon – 1 p.m.

Aceh Room, Mercy Corps Global Headquarters
45 SW Ankeny St.
Portland, OR

For more information, call 503-896-5002 or visit Mercy Corps Action Center.

Blessings & Blues Benefit Concert for Mercy Corps Clean Water Projects in Liberia – Sun – November 1, 2009
As the November temperatures drop, come get your dose of cool with Janice Scroggins, Portland’s own pianist & Gospel music legend along with Fiona Boyes, Australia’s international blueswoman.They’ll be putting on a benefit concert for Mercy Corps clean water projects in Liberia and the Cascade Blues Association Musician Relief Fund.

Enjoy special guests, Lloyd Jones, Jimi Bott, Dave Kahl, Dover Weinberg, La Rhonda Steele and others.

See more at the Mercy Corps website.

Sunday, November 1, 2009
7:00 pm

Grace Memorial Episcopal Church
1535 NE Seventeenth Avenue
Portland, OR 97223

$10 suggested minimum donation per person
Tickets available through Grace and at the door.
503-287-0418

Portland Business Alliance Presents Business Leadership Evening with Neal Keny-Guyer – Wed – November 4, 2009
Business Leadership Evening celebrates exceptional leadership in the business community and is an opportunity to connect with fellow business professionals. The evening keynote speaker will be Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps, who will discuss Mercy Corps’ commitment to helping those in need and spurring economic development around the world. The evening also includes the presentation of the William S. Naito Outstanding Service Award to J. Clayton Hering, President of Norris, Beggs & Simpson. The award recognizes exceptional leadership and service to the business community and is named in honor of the late Bill Naito.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009
6-9:00pm

Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR

To register, go to Portland Alliance. Table of 10: $1200. Individual ticket: $125

Presented by Wells Fargo. Sponsored by Hoffman Construction Company, Regence, Miller Nash, TransCanada, PGE and Oregon Business Magazine.

First Thursday in November with Portland Ten Thousand Villages – Thurs – November 5, 2009
Come start your holiday shopping in Portland’s Pearl District at Portland Ten Thousand Villages on Thursday, November 5th, when this unique shop will donate 15% of sales for the day back to Mercy Corps. Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by artisans from more than 130 artisan groups in 38 countries. As one of the world’s oldest and largest fair trade organizations, Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating long-term buying relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to unique gifts, accessories and home decor from around the world.

First Thursdays are generally held from 5-8pm during the evening on the first Thursday of each month, year-round, and for your convenience, the shop is open all day on the 5th. This popular art walk in Portland’s Pearl district showcases the area’s many outstanding shops and galleries. First Thursdays makes for a festive night for anyone interested in gallery-hopping and grabbing a quick bite or a leisurely meal.

Thursday, November 5th
Shop 10am-9pm

Portland Ten Thousand Villages
938 N.W. Everett Street
Portland, OR

Located in the Heart of the Pearl District on the corner of NW 10th and Everett.

For more information, go to Mercy Corps at First Thursday.

Photojournalism – Youth Workshop – October to December, 2009
For six Saturdays, kids in grades 9-12 can take part in this unique set of training weekends devoted to photojournalism.
The class culiminates in an online photoblog and a gallergy exhibition hosted by the Mercy Corps Action Center with a First Thursday opening.

Six Saturdays
October 24 – December 5th (excluding Thanksgiving weekend)
10am-12:30pm

Mercy Corps Action Center
28 SW First Ave.
Portland, OR

Cost $195 per student

To register or check for availability for this Saturday Academy offering, go to Saturday Academy.

Short Video Storytelling – Youth Workshop – November to December, 2009
Kids in grades 9-12 are invited to learn how to construct a compelling video production using powerful imagery and messaging. Flip cameras are provided; all shooting will be done during class time. Instructors will be practitioners drawn from Mercy Corps and the Portland community.

Four Saturdays November 7th – December 5th (excluding Thanksgiving weekend)
1:30-4pm

Mercy Corps Action Center
28 SW First Ave.
Portland, OR

Cost – $80 per student

To request a registration form, email pdxactioncenter@mercycorps.org.

Book review: The rising of Bread for the World by Arthur Simon

I have been involved with Bread for the World for 25 years now. The organization has helped shaped alot about who I am and what I believe. Arthur Simon is the founder of Bread for the World and its first President. This book is the story of the founding of Bread for the World, a couple of things jumped out at me and made me want to write a review.

• Its fasinating to me how a Lutheran pastor who grew up in Oregon came to found an anti-hunger orgnization. He lists important things in his life that lead him along this path. But its amazing to see all the little things and realize how easily this never could have happened. There are so many forks in the road of life.
• The fundamental humility of Arthur Simon comes out in the book. He mentions its not a ‘warts and all’ book, but he goes through his shortcomings and setbacks. Its a lesson that would serve all of us well. Life tends to make you hunble over time if you pay attention to it, a little more humility might make thoughs humble moments a little less of a shock and increase our chance to learn from them.

The key insights behind Bread are:

• Christians have for years done good work with private aid, but to be effective we must become public policy advocates as well. Hunger is too big an issue to be tackled by private aid or public programs alone.
• Bread is rooted in the Christian faith and the churches. Christians have a calling to help the poor and take action relying on their faith. It adds a unique, sincere, and powerful voice to the effort.
• Getting legislative action around hunger depends on letters and calls from constituients. It is the only power Bread has and the history of Bread shows the powerful results it can achieve.

Art chronicles some of the successes Bread has had over the years. Bread always works together with other partner organizations, but with these initiatives in particular, Bread has played a leading role:

Foreign

• Emergency and farmer owned grain reserve (1977 & 78). Faster response to famine. Has saved millions of lives over the years, distributing enough food to feed 100 m for neraly half a year.
• Child Survival (80s). US funding for Unicefs 5 low cost child survival measures: promoting breast feeding, growth charts, immunization, oral redydration, micro nutrients (vitamins). Saves 5 million per year. Has helped reduce the global daily death rate of children from 40,000 to 26,000 (still too high).
• Jubilee debt relief (99).Joined the global campaign for debt relief. Achieved the first real US committment for debt relief, allowing poor countries to divert there resources from debt payment, to spending in education and health.
• Reversed the long term decline in foreign aid. We are starting to see steady yearly increases in poverty focused development assistance (Helped found the ONE organization (1% increase in Foreign aid))(The Jubilee campaign started the momentum that lead to this). 

Domestic

• Wic program, started in 1974, provides nutrious food to 8 million mothers and children in the US. It increases the health of children in their most vulnerable years. More work to do, only 60% of eligible are covered.
• Support for the EITC (Earned income tax credit). The increases in the early 90s moved 4m out of poverty in the US.
• Defended food stamps from deeper cuts and block granting to the states. The program still suffered deep cuts during the 80s and 95 during welfare reform. Slowly it has regained some of this lost ground. The month benefit is still too small to meet a families need. $.60/meal/day.

Bread also faced some long term challenges and many obstacles:

• Fighting long term foreign decline. (especially agricultural development – just now being reversed). Decline started in 70s, continued through 80s and 90s. 80’s in particular was a lost decade: US miltary aid doubled, poor country spending in health declined 25%, in education 50%.
• Defensive battles of Reagan years: Increase in tax cuts and militray lead to increased defecits and cuts to programs. They sought a 40% reduction in child nutrition programs, 1 million forced off Food Stamps in early years. Alot of defensive work needed to limit the impact of cuts. Overall inflation adjusted funding for food prgrams dropped 5%, childhood poverty increased 21%. But their were successes in funding for WIC and the EITC.
• Harvest of peace – The hope was that the end of the cold war would produce a peace dividend that could be partly used for development assistance. The first Gulf War reversed this hope
• Welfare reform of the mid 90s. Produced some greater self sufficiency, but drastic cuts to food stamps and lack of investment in education and training meant that most remained trapped in poverty.

Current challenges

• Food crisis and global recession. 100 million more people are poor around the world due to the current global recession.
• Emerging poor & sustainability. Need to find ways for countries emerging from poverty to develop in a sustainable manner that doesnt overload resources and produce huge gaps in income.
• Continuing the current president of Bread for the Worlds (David Beckman) comittment to change the politics of hunger and create a broader, larger movement that can lead us to a world where large scale hunger is a thing of the past.

Art Simon founded an organization that over the years contributed to the saving of millions of lives. Its quite a legacy and achievement. We are slowly moving to an exodus from hunger. We need to continue the progress until we reach the promise land where freedom from hunger is the norm.