Miami East FFA raises funds for Heifer International

The Miami East-MVCTC FFA Chapter, along with a friendly herd of (plywood) cows, is seeking greener pastures for cows in third world countries. Presently, the FFA members at Miami East High School are soliciting donations for Heifer International. The goal of the Heifer International: Greener Pastures Program is to generate $1,000 that will provide 2 cows ($500 each) to be given to the impoverished families in poor, third world villages. The generous donations of members of the Miami East School Community is making this happen.

The program is designed to have six creatively decorated plywood cows stay a night or two in the yard of a community member. The community member will then make a donation to the FFA’s fundraising program to: 1) have the cows removed, 2) tell the FFA whose yard to put the cows in next, and/or 3) purchase insurance that the cows will not return to their yard or any combination of the three. The cows will then move to the next yard.

Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Dan West was a farmer from the American Midwest and member of the Church of the Brethren who went to the front lines of the Spanish Civil War as an aid worker. His mission was to provide relief, but he soon discovered the meager single cup of milk rationed to the weary refugees once a day was not enough. And then he had a thought: What if they had not a cup, but a cow? That “teach a man to fish” philosophy is what drove West to found Heifer International. And now, nearly 70 years later, that philosophy still inspires our work to end world hunger and poverty throughout the world once and for all.

Heifer International empowers families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity – but the approach is more than just giving them a handout. Heifer International links communities and helps bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a long history of poverty. The animals provide partners with both food and reliable income, as agricultural products such as milk, eggs and honey can be traded or sold at market. When many families gain this new sustainable income, it brings new opportunities for building schools, creating agricultural cooperatives, forming community savings and funding small businesses.

The core of the Heifer International model is Passing on the Gift. This means families share the training they receive and pass on the first female offspring of their livestock to another family. This extends the impact of the original gift, allowing a once impoverished family to become donors and full participants in improving their communities. The goal of every Heifer International project is to help families achieve self-reliance. This is done by providing them the tools they need to sustain themselves, and it’s thanks to the generosity of donors like you.

The Miami East FFA believes the Miami East community has the power to give a hungry family the training it takes to feed themselves and their children; to give a young girl a chance at an education; to empower a woman to have a voice in her community. Together, Miami East FFA and their Heifer International: Greener Pastures program can change the world, one family, one community, at a time. And it all starts with a gift. For further information please visit www.heifer.org.