Ever Wanted to Work Yourself Out of a Job?

Chances are that you’ve never met a person who wanted to be so successful at their job that they would literally work themselves out of a job… Well that’s me.

Allow me to introduce myself: My name is Bryan Coffey and I am an event coordinator for a wonderful organization whose mission is to end hunger.

I am a firm believer that by having an authentic interest in a specific mission you will be successful with the solutions required to support that mission.

In a roundabout way, my personal goal is to work myself out of a job because I know that in doing so, I’ve successfully ended hunger in the world. Each day I network with an abundance of people ranging from small business owners to CEOs of large corporations and from community schools to mega churches around the nation. Through these conversations we are discussing possible solutions to alleviate hunger in their communities or internationally.

I’d like to help you understand what hunger looks like and I’m not implying the need for a 10:00 a.m. snack between breakfast and lunch. Yes, I am guilty of that, too!

I’m talking about starvation and food insecurity.

Did you know that 925 million people do not have enough food to eat? Eighty-eight percent of these people are living in developing countries. There are more hungry people in the world right now than the general populations of the United States, Canada, and the European Union combined.

You may have noticed that I used the phrase “hungry people” in my last sentence. This term is an effective way to express food insecurity. Food insecure people are unsure of where their next meal is coming from and when it will arrive. More than likely that meal will not be nutritionally balanced. Though it is not as evident, food insecurity is often found in developed countries like the United States.

Starvation, however, is better known as the suffering or death of a person which is caused by hunger related issues. Starvation is the world’s number one health risk. More people are killed by starvation each year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Starvation is often found in underdeveloped countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and many more.

The founders of The Outreach Program, Floyd and Kathy Hammer, have witnessed firsthand a great deal of the impact that starvation can have on a community. Much of their time is spent in Tanzania where The Outreach Program provides food, water, medical care and education to children and families of the Nkungi village. The impact of our work in this particular village has been life-changing for many people since the birth of our organization in 2004.

Early on, Floyd and Kathy were frequently witnessing the deaths of not only older people, but even young children, due to the lack of nutritional meals and clean water. Twelve years later, they are now witnessing children whose bodies are developing properly and growing strong because they are being provided with protein- and vitamin-enriched meals, in addition to the clean water sources supported by The Outreach Program.

Starvation and food insecurity both are very real and very present in our world today. Although food insecurity is more difficult to notice and to understand, it is present in communities around our nation. In fact, I’d bet my bottom dollar that some of the children in your local school district are living food insecure lives. They don’t know when they will get their next meal and it may not be nutritionally balanced. That is something for you to think about…

All this to say that through the work I am doing with The Outreach Program it is my genuine desire to work myself out of a job knowing that I have helped to end hunger in our world. At that point, I am free to move on with another mission!

I’d like to be able to say that you were also part of my journey of ending hunger. Let’s do this together!

You can reach Bryan at: mailto:bryan@outreachprogram.org or by calling our office: 641-486-2550

Ending Hunger. Enriching Lives.