Sixth Lilly Global Day of Service to Address Hunger
This guest blog comes from Beth Hunter, associate communications consultant for Lilly Health, Safety, and Environment and communications lead for Lilly's 2013 Global Day of Service.
Since the Global Day of Service launched in 2008, Lilly employees have given 625,000 hours of service to communities around the world. This year, more than 20,000 employees will participate in nearly 60 countries, from Australia to Honduras and many places in between.
The Global Day of Service has repeatedly shown what a single, coordinated effort can do to improve the communities where we live and work. For hundreds of volunteers in numerous locations on October 10, that collective approach will focus on the fight against a global health threat: hunger.
According to the World Food Programme, hunger kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Of the 870 million people around the world who do not have enough to eat, children are the most impacted, with nearly half of deaths in children under five-years-old related to malnutrition.
Hunger isn’t just something that happens in developing nations. It can be found in every country and in every community around the world.
“There are different reasons why hunger exists. It could be related to poverty or crop failure,” said Dave Miner, a Lilly retiree and 30-year global hunger activist. “While there is diversity in the reason, one thing is universal: When you aren’t sure where your next meal is coming from, it’s hard to think of anything else.”
