As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
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Missouri businessman starts program to keep kids in school
The difficulties that poor children in Springfield, Missouri, face in obtaining everyday necessities like clothing, food, and hygienic products disrupt their learning and injure their self-esteem, sometimes even preventing them from attending class. To keep them in school, businessman Doug Pitt—brother of actor Brad Pitt—founded Care to Learn, a local program devoted to meeting... »
Connecticut Food Bank strains to meet growing need
As summer settles in and low-income families must provide extra meals for children typically fed at school through federally subsidized lunch programs, the Connecticut Food Bank is in desperate need of assistance to keep its warehouses stocked. Donations are going down as demand for food rises, and although the federal government allocated $593,000 to... »
Indiana thrift stores see increase in customers, decrease in donations
Since the beginning of the recession, Goodwill stores across northeastern Indiana have seen a 7 percent jump in their number of customers. Low-priced name brand clothing is attractive to those looking to be more frugal by spending less money on their wardrobes and more on other necessities, such as food and shelter. However, fewer... »
New Jersey volunteers bring food, clothing, awareness to Kentucky town
Volunteers from local faith groups in Millburn, N.J., have recently returned from a mission trip to McRoberts, Ky., where they delivered food, clothing, and furniture to a town hard hit by strip mining and rural poverty. Widespread drug use among McRoberts’ youth has many worried about the future of the next generation. Many Millburn... »
Brooklyn Special Education Class Reaches Out to Community
In Brooklyn, New York, Shell Bank Junior High’s special education students are doing their part to reach out to their community. Beginning with a toy drive for the disadvantaged, the class then collected warm clothing for children living in the nearby Bay Family Center after seeing them in summer clothes during the Christmas season. ... »