Volunteers help prepare food for kids in West Africa

By Lindsay Larin • August 31, 2009 10:36 pm
More than 200 volunteers gather at Bellevue’s Downtown Park to package meals for children in Africa.
More than 200 volunteers gather at Bellevue’s Downtown Park to package meals for children in Africa.

The Downtown Park in Bellevue was taken over by a sea of red on Wednesday, August 26 for the 25K Meal Marathon event.

More than 200 community members and volunteers turned out to help package 25,000 meals for orphans and impoverished children living in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

The packaged meals put together at the event included lentils, spice, chicken and rice. The bags were weighed, sealed, and boxed for shipment overseas.

Members of the Downtown Church in Bellevue partnered with Children of the Nations (COTN) to host the marathon meal event. Children of the Nations is a local non-profit organization serving orphaned and destitute children around the world.

The organization has served the children of Africa and the Dominican Republic for 14 years.

“Children of the Nations is excited The Downtown Church has committed to raising funds and packaging 25,000 meals for orphaned and destitute children in Sierra Leone,” said Fraser Ratzlaff, COTN’s Seattle Feeding Coordinator. “This life saving food is crucial to reaching children in desperate need due to the affects of war, AIDS, and extreme poverty. The Downtown Church is an excellent example of a group of individuals from the community getting involved locally to make an impact internationally.”

Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425.453.4602.

For more information on Children of the Nations, visit http://www.cotni.org/.