Welcome to another edition of Make A Difference Mondays! If you take away one thing from this post, take away this – the Make A Difference Mondays initiative is not about us or anything we may do. We do this for God and because of Him, and will always point back to Him. Our goal is not for anyone to be impressed by what we’re doing, but be impressed by the One we’re serving.

Stamp Out Hunger Banner
On Saturday, May 10, 2014 the 22nd annual food drive to Stamp Out Hunger! will be taking place in 10,000 cities and towns across all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Guam. If you live in a participating area, all you have to do to help is leave a bag of non-perishable food donations by your mailbox. As your letter carrier drops off your mail, they’ll pick up the bag and your donations will be delivered to a local food bank or pantry. 
I will be grocery shopping this upcoming week and while doing so, I will also be adding some non-perishables to donate. I encourage you to do the same on your next grocery trip and to participate in this great event! Not sure what to donate? Think meals and nutrient packed foods, such as:
  • Canned tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef
  • Canned chili, beef stew and soups
  • Dried beans
  • Peanut butter
  • Oatmeal
  • Low-sugar cereals
  • Whole grain crackers
  • All types of pasta
  • Rice
  • Canned vegetables
  • Spaghetti sauce with meat
  • Fruit canned in its own juice
  • 100% fruit juice
  • Evaporated milk
“In many ways, America is the land of plenty. But for 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a very real struggle. Many people believe that the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country, or certain neighborhoods, but the reality is much different. It’s time to educate ourselves about the causes of hunger in America.” Source: Feeding America

According to national Food Drive partner Feeding America, 49 million Americans may not know where their next meal is coming from. This sad figure includes nearly 16 million children and Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, provides assistance to those who struggle to put food on the table every day.

(Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap report)

“In the last 22 years, more than 1.2 billion pounds of food donations have been collected. In 2013 alone, 74.4 million pounds of food donations were acquired. Campbell supports the drive by continuing to donate one million pounds of food – more than 800,000 meals – to Feeding America as part of its year round commitment. All U.S. residents are encouraged to join Campbell Soup Company, the U.S. Postal Service and National Association of Letter Carriers for the Stamp Out Hunger food drive benefiting Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
Participants are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable food items, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice or cereal, next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 10. Local letter carriers will collect these food donations as they deliver mail and take them to local food banks.
Food bank reserves are often low leading into summer because holiday donations have tapered off, but the need remains high. During the summer, more families rely on food banks so they can provide additional meals to their kids that might typically be supplied by school breakfast or lunch programs during the school year. An estimated 20 percent of households with children live in food insecure environments and rely on this food drive to sustain their households. 

Put your donations out in conjunction with your regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 10th.” Source: Help End Hunger
We would be so humbled and happy if you would like to read and write along with us, so that we may encourage one another toward acts of service that make a difference right in our own spheres of influence. Here’s the low-down: There will be six women regularly co-hosting this link-up that will appear on all six of our blogs and we also have three wonderful co-hosts who will fill in as guest hosts on the occasional day that a regular co-host is not able to post. Read on to learn more about our vision, mission, and how to link up!

Mission
Our mission is to provide a consistent gathering place for like-minded women to build online connections, share inspiration, and provide mutual encouragement and accountability as we seek to live intentionally and make a difference in the lives of those around us.

Vision
Every Monday we will invite bloggers to link-up any blog posts that encourage women to live life on purpose. This could include testimonies or goals from your own life, small acts of kindness or service, creative tips or ideas for showing consideration to others — the possibilities are endless. Our objective is to use our God-given time and resources to His glory because this is true for us all: