Hello. My name is Amy Carlton. I’m a sixteen year old from Lake Oswego, Oregon and the founder of Teens Fighting Hunger, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Here’s how Teens Fighting Hunger came to be.

While working on a history assignment in 2007, I encountered some disturbing statistics about the plight of hungry people throughout the world. Taking a closer look at the facts I was shocked to find that even in the United States, arguably the wealthiest nation on earth, there are 12.4 million children who go hungry every month...  through no fault of their own.  I was also surprised to discover that, at least in my home state, nearly half of the families with children who receive food assistance have at least one full-time worker.  So the notion that the hungry are comprised solely of homeless, lazy people, drug users or those otherwise making lifestyle choices, appears to be a myth.  Add to this the short and long term health and societal effects of childhood hunger and we have quite a problem. (see About Childhood Hunger).

The whole thing just didn’t seem right.  What could I do to help ease the suffering of children less fortunate than myself?  After much thought I stumbled upon an idea. What if I turned my earring-making hobby into a way to raise money to provide hunger relief?  And furthermore, what if I could harness the energy and creativity of other socially conscious teenagers and kids?  Together we could make a real dent in the hunger problem — and have fun in the process!

So here we are, already hard at work raising money to aid hungry children in America. It’s been both fun and rewarding and I urge you read on and learn more about us. I also hope you’ll get involved and support us in our efforts in any way you can. 

Thank You!