The first-ever online benefit for ELCA World Hunger took place on Sept. 24. The event was hosted by Rick Steves, guidebook author and travel TV host; the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); the Rev. Shelley Bryan Wee, bishop of the ELCA Northwest Washington Synod; and the Rev. Dan Rift, director of ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Response funding. They spoke about how COVID-19 is increasing hunger around the world at an alarming rate. They also shared how we can unite as a church and make a difference.
Within days of the event, we met our matching goal of $250,000! Thank you for your incredible generosity. Now, there is still more work to do. Your continuing support for ELCA World Hunger will allow the church to provide vital support for our community. Your gifts will meet immediate, critical needs around the world, and they will help to build a more stable future.
We are called by God to share hope in this time of challenge. Join us to face this global hunger crisis head-on and to continue moving toward a just world where all are fed.
Working with and through ELCA congregations (in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Lutheran churches overseas and other partners, ELCA World Hunger is uniquely positioned to reach communities in need. From health clinics to microloans, water wells to animal husbandry, community meals to advocacy, gifts to ELCA World Hunger enable the ELCA to respond, supporting sustainable solutions that get at the root causes of hunger and poverty.
By providing immediate relief to those who are hungry, we meet basic needs and recognize the universal human right to food. But ending hunger is about more than food. By connecting people with the resources they need to produce food and gain access to clean water, education, health care and sources of income, we can foster long-term, sustainable change. Learn more at elca.org/hunger.
Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America's most respected authority on European travel. In 1976, he started Rick Steves' Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation into a company with a staff of 100 full-time, well-traveled employees at its headquarters in Edmonds, Wash., near Seattle. There he produces a best-selling guidebook series on European travel; the most popular travel series on U.S. television; a weekly, hourlong show on National Public Radio; a weekly, syndicated newspaper column; and free travel information available through his travel center and ricksteves.com. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful European tour program, organizing small-group tours that take more than 30,000 travelers to Europe annually. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable and culturally broadening. Learn more at ricksteves.com.
Travelers face a dilemma: International travel is one of the best ways to become a better global citizen, yet every airline flight results in damaging carbon being emitted into the atmosphere. Fortunately, we can mitigate this environmental toll. Each year, Rick Steves' Europe invests $1 million in a portfolio of nonprofits that are making a big difference (this includes $100,000 for ELCA World Hunger). So each traveler taking a Rick Steves' Europe tour can enjoy the peace of mind that they are traveling climate-smart. Learn more at ricksteves.com/climate.
We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person--questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work in Christ's name for the life of the world.
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