Golfers at the Swing at World Hunger Golf Tournament held in 2019. (Photo: Facebook)
The Foodgrains Bank network includes many different people working together to end hunger. Canadians have also had to adapt and become creative in their important role of supporting this work.
For the past three years, Jerry and Doreen Klassen have organized the ‘Swing at World Hunger’ golf tournament in Kelowna, B.C. The tournament grew every year, raising $9,000 in its first year and then $15,000 in 2019.
To include more golfers in the May 2020 event, they booked a bigger course. But then came the pandemic. The tournament was just one more cancelled event.
Recognizing that the needs of people supported through the Foodgrains Bank would only get worse during a pandemic, the group proceeded with a ‘no-golf golf tournament.’
“We put the message out to an email list of everybody who ever supported the event and announced our dates and plans for 2021, but we also invited them to contribute this year,” says Jerry.
The result was over $20,000 in gifts—more than they had ever raised before.
For Jerry, the work of ending hunger resonates, particularly when considering the abundance many enjoy in Canada while others around the world don’t have the same social safety nets or access to food. Especially this year, with the pandemic he says, “it just seems right.”
We still don’t know when the pandemic will end or what the long-term impacts on global food security might be, but we do know one thing: From the continued generosity of Canadian families, churches and businesses, to the committed work of local organizations and staff in developing countries, the fight against world hunger has continued.
– Shaylyn McMahon, Digital Communications Officer