In my journey in becoming an active global citizen, I am learning that I am lucky and that I have so much to be thankful for. I am lucky to have been born in Canada where my family and I are safe and healthy. I am lucky because I get to go to school and education something that is a right for us here. I am thankful that we have as much clean water as we want. I am also thankful that there is always food in my fridge for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not everyone can be thankful for so much.
October is an interesting month when it comes to holidays – Thanksgiving and Halloween. This year I am bringing the two of them together.
Free The Children has a campaign called We Scare Hunger where on Halloween night when you’re Trick or Treating instead of collecting candy you can collect canned goods. In the days leading up to Halloween, you can download and print cards to give to your neighbours so that they are ready with their donation for you. I bet that they will be so happy and proud of what you are doing that they’ll give you candy too. You can drop all the food off at your local food bank and it will help lots of people going hungry in your community. We Scare Hunger is also about making a change locally and it all adds up to make a big difference. Change starts at home and in your community and We Scare Hunger is a great way to make a big difference. But I can’t do it alone. Together we can eliminate hunger locally and globally to make the world a better place, one step at a time.
Why do we need to Scare Hunger?
No one should go hungry, but 870 million people around the world do every day—some of them in our own backyard.
In Canada:
- During March 2012, 882,188 Canadians received assistance from a food bank.
- One in five parents said they skipped meals to ensure there was enough food for their children.
- From 2008 to 2012, there was a 31% increase in use of food banks.
- 14% of food banks ran out of food during the survey period.
- 55% of food banks needed to cut back on the amount of food provided to each household.
In the Greater Toronto Area:
- Last year, there were almost 763,700 visits to Daily Bread Food Bank member agencies.
- One-third of people who rely on food banks are children.
- The average food bank client spends 73% of their income on housing, leaving less than six dollars a day for food, transportation, clothing and other basic needs.
- Spending more than 50% of your income on rent puts you at risk of homelessness.
- 47% have a disability.
When I go out for Halloween I will be collecting food for We Scare Hunger to support my local food bank. I am also launching We Scare Hunger at my school and my dojo, Energy Karate where students and their families can bring non-perishable food to donate to create change in our community. For more information and to sign up for We Scare Hunger, please visit www.freethechildren.com/wescarehunger. Together we can make a difference for a lot of people.
This October please join me in being thankful for what you have and also be thankful that you can do something to help someone in your community.
Kate says
Hannah, I like your blog. You are doing good things. I am going to We Day in Winnipeg with my mom and maybe I will meet you.
I care for people around the world and in my community that don’t have food. I was in a parade and collected food for our food bank.
à la prochaine,
Kate
callmehannah says
Thank you Kate! You must be also doing amazing things since you are going to We Day, everybody there is changing the world! That is awesome about the food bank, it is a great way to make a difference locally! I hope that I see you in Winnipeg!
Ali says
Hi Hannah. I am 11 and so inspired by you. This halloween me and my friends will be preticipating in we scare hunger this halloween. We are also part of me to we at our school and have many bakesales. Do you know of any other ways we can raise money to help?
Ali
callmehannah says
Thank you so much Ali! It is kids like you who encourage me to keep writing my blog and everything! It is kids like you who are an inspiration to me and your stories are so motivating! It is amazing how much you do with your school whether it is bake sales or scaring hunger away from your community, these things all add up to make a big difference. Imagine of the change that we would have in the world if every person buys a rafiki chain, or launches campaigns or attends We Day. Thank you so much for everything that you have done to change the world!
Ali says
Thank you so much Hannah your reply made my day. Everyday after i posted my comment i was checking your blog waiting for your reply. You are a true inspiration to so many people at such a young age! Even though you are about my age you are my new role model and have been since the first time a read your blog.
-Ali
callmehannah says
Thank you Ali! That means so much that people care, it feels awesome to know that your voice is being heard. Your voice is being heard every single day whenever you donate a can of food, pick up a piece of litter, or participate in We Create Change. Young people are not only the present, but the future. Please, keep doing what you are doing, it makes a big difference!
Abbi says
I like your initiative as a global citizen and I wish to be just like you. 🙂
callmehannah says
Hi Abbi! The thing is, that it is not just me who has launched campaigns in their school, millions of people have done for what? Kindness. Anyobdy can make a difference, no matter who they are, as long as you believe in yourself, you can accomlish anything. Which in this case is give people food so that they are not hungry and have a better life.