Contact: Trisha Amadura, Global Fast, 310-866-1396
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- Hundreds of schools, youth groups and churches around the nation are preparing for Global Fast -- a day of fasting and charity to impact the world on Feb 21 (Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent).
Since launching an outreach effort on Jan 1, Global Fast – a faith-based anti-poverty movement – has spread far and wide by word of mouth to attract more than 100,000 committed fasters in the US and around the world.
Global Fast asks participants to spend a day in fasting and prayer for global change, giving the money they would have spent on food to support excellent global relief charities.
“Our average pledge is $10. If we eventually reach 10 million people to fast and give for one day, we can send $100 million to the most efficient charities working around the world,” says Global Fast founder Rich Halvorson. He continued, “We believe people want to make a difference together, and creating a huge impact is a real possibility.”
As an added perk, the seven charities partnered with Global Fast have agreed to match all contributions – in effect, doubling the impact of fasters’ donations for global poverty relief.
The Global Fast kickoff day has inspired fasters from Mexico to Massachusetts, and Philadelphia to the Philippines. Many youth groups have committed to build a home for a family in Haiti, or build a water well in Ethiopia.
“Our generation is desperate to make a difference,” says Halvorson, “and we’ve created a way that a young person can save a village in Africa even if they can’t afford to leave home.”
One youth group in Missouri has planned an ‘empty plate banquet’ for the day of the fast – gathering a group around a table full of empty plates to pray for the hungry around the world.
Students at UCLA are inviting their campus to fast and give to build a well in Ethiopia. At noon, students will assemble for a prayer vigil asking for relief for the 1 billion poor around the world without access to clean water.
The seven Global Fast matching partners are highly efficient faith-based charities that provided a total of over $1 billion in poverty relief during 2006.
Global Fast is a grassroots movement calling for fasting, prayer and charity to combat the world’s material and spiritual poverty. For information: 310-866-1396 or visit www.GF07.com.
