For many, living in financial hardship is a daily struggle. One in 7 Canadian adults and 1 in 5 Canadian children are currently living in poverty. Globally, World Bank projections suggest that about 700 million people are affected by poverty with about 1.2 billion living on less than $1.25 USD per day. Thankfully, there are many organizations focused on improving the quality of life both within our country and across the world.
The key to reducing poverty is to provide opportunities for advancement. Economic growth goes hand in hand with human growth. For this be established, people need to have access to healthy food, clean water, education and stable living conditions. According to “Our World In Data”,
the world’s poverty rate has declined rapidly over the last 30 years. That’s certainly promising, but there is still much work needed to be done.
Fortunately, there are some great organizations that take poverty reduction seriously.
Everyone knows someone who’s a part of Rotary. Rotarians are a proud bunch. They’re in the community raising funds in all sorts of creative ways and they always seem to have fun doing it.
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. During the past 100 years, the Foundation has spent $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects. Their causes include:
- Promoting Peace
- Providing Clean Water
- Saving Mothers and Children
- Supporting Education
- Growing Local Economies
- Fighting Disease
With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WFP tackles urgent issues that impede food security throughout the developing world.
The World Food Programme is the leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience serving 80 million people in around 80 countries around the world. The hopes of this program are to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030.
Anyone from my generation will remember collecting on behalf of UNICEF while trick-or-treating at Hallowe’en. I loved hearing the sound of the pennies and nickels dropping into my little orange box. I smiled proudly and thanked the donor and waited anxiously for the treat that came next.
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children’s rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF was created with a distinct purpose in mind: to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path. We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.
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elping reduce poverty globally is only part of the solution. Right here, at home in our own backyard, people need help. Simcoe County Circles® is working hard to create Bridges Out of Poverty and help people with Getting Ahead. Our approach combines best practices in several disciplines including community organizing, case management, grassroots leadership, S.M.A.R.T. goal setting, financial literacy, mentoring, peer-to-peer counseling and learning, and child/youth development.
If you know of anyone who would like to be a part of our programs, please share our contact information. Together we can all make a difference.
Simcoe County Circles
www.simcoecountycircles.com
Dionne Thomson
Coordinator
705-790-9885
