CHEFS FOR HUMANITY TEAMS UP WITH SHARE OUR STRENGTH AND TIMBERLAND TO ADDRESS ONGOING CHALLENGES IN POST-EARTHQUAKE HAITI
Los Angeles, CA (April X, 2010) - Chefs for Humanity, The Timberland Company and Share Our Strength are joining forces to continue relief efforts in Haiti. The group, which is coming together for the first time, will travel to Haiti April 12 through April 14, 2010 to oversee the distribution of food and explore opportunities where there are critical needs. First they will help earthquake-devastated communities create a plan for sustainable agricultural living methods. Second, the group will assess the prosthetic challenges facing those who have become disabled by the recent tragedy.
Beyond providing and distributing food, a primary focus of this trip is to help identify means to develop sustainable agriculture amidst the damage in order to work towards rebuilding an independent Haiti. The group will leverage Share Our Strength’s existing presence in the Haiti relief effort to most efficiently penetrate the worst-hit communities and make the most progress possible.
“As critical as disaster relief efforts have been to Haiti and its people in the days and weeks following January’s earthquake, equally critical now is a focus on long-term solutions,” said Timberland’s President & CEO Jeff Swartz. “There are real opportunities here to help a devastated nation re-grow and rebuild, stronger than ever, and to have a positive impact on Haiti’s future.”
Chefs For Humanity, a non-profit that provides nutrition education, hunger relief, emergency and humanitarian aid to reduce hunger across the globe, and Share Our Strength, America’s leading organization working to end childhood hunger in the States, have created this alliance to address hunger crisis situation beginning with Haiti. Timberland had previously collaborated with Share Our Strength on Haitian relief efforts, when the two joined forces and visited the country immediately following the earthquake.
“This is the first time Chefs For Humanity is partnering with these organizations, and it combines two influential anti-hunger non-profit groups into a single powerhouse looking to make a significant difference,” says celebrity chef Cat Cora, president and founder of Chefs For Humanity. “To end hunger in the world and to provide aid when a crisis strikes, organizations and people have to unite and collaborate. Timberland, Share Our Strength and Chefs For Humanity understand this and therefore have decided to band together to see how we can aid the people of Haiti in this dire time.”
The first stop on the trip is to the Yele-Haiti house in Port-au-Prince. With several active services including food distribution and mobilizing emergency relief, Yele Haiti is a grassroots movement inspiring change in Haiti through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment.
“We are committed to the people of Haiti and we are deeply concerned for the families and children displaced by this catastrophe,” said Bill Shore, Founder and Executive Director of Share Our Strength. “We hope our trip with Chefs For Humanity and Timberland will help us identify long-term solutions that both address the challenges to provide necessary medical and hunger relief and ensure that Haitians are empowered with the support and tools they need to rebuild their country.”
For additional information about this effort please visit http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/
About Chefs For Humanity
In the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami tragedy, Cat Cora, a chef and humanitarian, identified an urgent need to provide food and nutritional guidance to people in crisis. Whether they are recovering from a natural disaster or facing daily starvation in an underdeveloped country, people all over the globe need sanitary, nourishing meals. Cat’s concept: a culinary version of Doctors Without Borders, called Chefs For Humanity. (http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/)
Today, Chefs for Humanity has evolved into a powerful force against worldwide hunger. With partner projects underway in several countries, including our own, Cat and her colleagues provide awareness of both feeding and nutritional needs.
About Share Our Strength
Share Our Strength® is the leading national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. By weaving together a net of community groups, activists and food programs, Share Our Strength catches children at risk of hunger and ensures they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Working closely with the culinary industry, Share Our Strength creates engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation®, the nation’s premier culinary benefit; Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale®, a national grassroots effort; Share Our Strength’s A Tasteful Pursuit®, a touring dinner series; Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out ®, a week-long program involving thousands of restaurants nationwide; and Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline®, a cooking-based nutrition education program. Visit Strength.org and learn more about our goal of ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.
About Timberland
Timberland (NYSE: TBL) is a global leader in the design, engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and accessories for consumers who value the outdoors and their time in it. Timberland markets products under the Timberland®, Timberland PRO®, SmartWool®, Timberland Boot Company®, Mountain Athletics®, Howies® and IPATH® brands, all of which offer quality workmanship and detailing and are built to withstand the elements of nature. The company’s products can be found in leading department and specialty stores as well as Timberland® retail stores throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa and the Middle East. Timberland’s dedication to making quality products is matched by the company’s commitment to “doing well and doing good” — forging powerful partnerships among employees, consumers and service partners to transform the communities in which they live and work.
To learn more about Timberland, please visit http://www.timberland.com/.
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