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This week, the Springfield-based humanitarian organization Convoy of Hope reached a milestone: it has served more than 50 Million people around the world through international children’s feeding initiatives, citywide outreaches, disaster response and partner resourcing. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark has more.
Founded in 1994, Convoy of Hope is a faith-based organization that has put together relief efforts for disaster situations all over the world. Jeff Nene is a spokesman for Convoy of Hope.
“It was only about 17 years ago that Convoy began by serving a few boxes of food out of the back of a pick-up truck. The distance that we’ve come and the number of people that we have been able to help through the years—it’s just so exciting to hit that 50 million mark.”
Nene says he can remember when he started working there ten years ago. He says his first outreach event was held in a garbage dump in Macedonia.
“We celebrated three million people served at that outreach ten years ago. It took us seven years to get to that mark, and now in the last ten years, we’ve grown from three million served to fifty million served. So it’s been exciting to see the growth, especially in the last five years.”
In 2011, Convoy of Hope enrolled more than 100,000 people in its children’s feeding initiative and conducted major disaster relief efforts in response to the Joplin tornado, as well as the earthquake in Japan.
It plans to add significantly to the 50 million people currently served with the launch of the 50-state, Convoy of Hope All America Tour, which is set to debut on May, 12.
For KSMU News, I’m Rebekah Clark.
Rebekah has lived in Springfield her entire life, and she plans to spend the rest of her life in southwest Missouri. She's a student at MSU seeking a major in public relations and a minor in history. In her free time, she loves to read, ride her bike, sing, spend time outdoors, hang out with her friends, listen to music and take pictures. She also volunteers with the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks and is a member of her church worship band.
