It’s always nice when you hear what philanthropists celebrities are, but when they actually travel to a country in need and help out in person it shows true character.
Take Hillary Duff. Apparently the pretty youth isn’t just a TV, film and pop sensation. She’s also a humanitarian. Duff, 21, recently distributed 3,000 backpacks full of food to poor kids in the Bogota, Columbia school district with the Blessings in a Backpack program.
“We’ve been working for four years feeding children over the weekends. They invited us to come here, and we got our first school in Bogota,” says Duff, who has been a part of the program for over four years.
She has actually helped to start this program, along with USA Harvest founder Stan Curtis. The idea is to distribute the backpacks of food every Friday so the kids can take them home and share them with their families during the weekend.
Hillary was dubbed the “Ambassador for the Youth” by Bogota during her stay. Other supporters of Blessings in a Backpack include rocker Sammy Hagar and football star Will Wolford.
Blessings in a Backpack has helped 26,000 K-5 kids in 106 schools in the U.S. and Canada. A donation of $80 can feed a single child for an entire year. Supplementing the Federal Free and Reduced Meal Program, it often provides weekend meals for children in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, Michigan, New York, Texas, California and Illinois.
To get involved, you can visit the website and adopt a school, volunteer, or donate backpacks, money or other needs. You can also send checks to:
Blessings in a Backpack
P.O. BOX 1628, LOUISVILLE, KY 40201-1628