 |
Program:
|
What is a Dinner of Compassion?
A Dinner of Compassion is a simple meal of rice, or rice and vegetables or soup. It can be experienced at home, or with a group such as at your Church or with a club or an organization.
What is the purpose of a Dinner of Compassion?
The purpose is two fold.
1. To experience what it feels like to not have enough to eat so as to heighten our empathy for those who regularly do not have enough to eat due to unfortunate circumstances.
2. To end world hunger one meal at a time, by raising funds to support organizations that feed the hungry.
How is the purpose accomplished?
1. A very simple dinner is served, with moderate to small portions. Participants are encouraged to experience what it feel like to be hungry even after eating dinner, and to eat plain food, perhaps nothing like they would normally eat. They also get a sense of what it is like to not have a choice as to what to eat, and when to eat.
2. Table conversation should include discussions about the world hunger problem, and specifically the hungry people in their own community.
3. The meal and the conversations are intended to help participants develop or deepen their compassion for the less fortunate, specifically the hungry.
4. Participants are asked to donate the money that they would have spent on the evening's meal, either prepared at home or eaten at a restaurant. The collected money is then donated to an organization that feeds the hungry.
5. This can be experienced within the family or expanded into social or activist groups, as well as Churches.
6. When done by a group or Church, a guest speaker may be invited from the organization that has been chosen to receive the funds from that evening's Dinner of Compassion.
Detailed Instructions for Putting On a Dinner of Compassion for Your Group
For more information or assistance, contact:
Rev. Dr. Donna Byrns
626-795-6905
donnabyrns@sbcglobal.net