SPRINGFIELD, MO – According to its website, Convoy of Hope is a faith-based, nonprofit organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, and disaster response.

The Donaldson siblings experienced extraordinary compassion from Christian families following their father’s death in an automobile accident. Having been the recipients of such great grace, the compassion they received became a driving force for extending their own compassion for others. In 1994, they founded Convoy of Hope.

An extraordinary global ministry in itself, Convoy of Hope has distinguished itself over the past five weeks during the Coronavirus pandemic. The FBO’s fleet of tractor-trailers has traveled throughout the U.S. delivering food and emergency supplies to families in distress due to the nationwide shutdown. In that five weeks alone, Convoy of Hope has already delivered more than 10 million meals to people with heart-wrenching stories and desperate faces.

Their pandemic relief effort is in action right now, Monday, May 18, 2020, distributing 40,000 lbs. of food in Darlington, South Carolina.

Convey of Hope is always prepared because no one knows when disaster will strike.

“Consistently among the first to respond to disasters throughout the world, we are highly regarded for our scalable distribution model, Disaster Response teams, six international warehouses, and Mobile Command Center.”

Serving over 10 million meals in just five weeks seems like – and it is – a monumental task. But, for these people, it is just another day of compassionate service. Take a look at some of what Convoy for Hope has done to help others on a regular basis.

Disaster Relief

• Responses to 47 disaster areas in 2019.
• More than 11 million pounds of relief supplies distributed to more than a million people in the U.S. alone in 2019.
• Over 20,000 volunteer service hours.

Rural Compassion

Steve Donaldson, the Senior Director of Convoy of Hope’s Rural Compassion Initiative, said that he is “consistently awestruck by the depth of poverty we see in rural American towns.” He added that he is “equally inspired by the determination and grassroots solutions in those same towns.”

• 52,110 pairs of shoes distributed in U.S. rural towns in 2019.
• 3,456 backpacks provided for school children in 2019.

Feeding Children

Convoy of Hope currently provides nutritious meals every day to more than 300,000 children in 18 foreign countries and more than 1,500 local communities. Those countries include Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.

In Addition

Convoy of Hope ministries include holding community events in places where vulnerable families struggle to put food on the table.

“Event guests are treated as Guests of Honor. Thousands attend to experience a poverty-free day filled with free food, services, and hope. Approximately $1 million worth of goods and services are provided to the 5,000 to 10,000 Guests of Honor who attend each event.”

No less important – in fact, integral components of the ministry – are the Women’s Empowerment and Agriculture programs. Education plays a major role in both programs. Empowerment and better economic outcomes are the results. In fact, the increase harvests gained by properly trained and equipped local farmers help to provide tens of thousands of meals for the food distribution and relief campaigns.

Compassion demonstrated toward the four Donaldson children became the pattern of living compassionately for others. How has compassion changed your life?

Read more news on Compassion Services and the Coronavirus Outbreak on Missions Box.

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