For the fifth consecutive year, the Religious Conference Management Association has donated $100,000 to the United Nations' World Food Programme to fight hunger among children. RCMA now has given $500,000 for this worthy purpose, and its gift this year will feed 3,000 children for one school year.

The World Food Programme provides food for children at schools. The approach is simple, and it works: Food attracts hungry children to school. An education broadens their options, helping to lift them out of poverty. Instead of searching for food or working, children receive a nutritious meal as well as an education. In the poorest pockets of the world, this strategy can double primary school enrollment in one year.

Among the poor, there is often not enough food at home, and most schools in developing countries do not have canteens or cafeterias. The promise of at least one nutritious meal a day attracts children to school, boosts enrollment, promotes attendance, and enhances student performance.

DeWayne Woodring, CMP, CEM, executive director of RCMA, said, “Providing food to impoverished children in schools is one of the most effective strategies for fighting hunger, eliminating poverty, and providing education. As a public charity, our association feels that it has a special ministry to perform, and is expressing this partially through the school feeding program. This humanitarian endeavor helps, in a small way, to address the ravages of hunger.”

RCMA is the only professional association in the meetings industry that consistently makes substantial contributions to meeting the needs of children worldwide.