Hello everyone! Well, another year has past and I am now back again to ask for your help! Over the weekend of March 6th and 7th, I will fast for 30 hours, spend the night outside in a cardboard box in front of my church, and participate in service projects around Charlotte. My youth group does this every year to help us get a glimpse of what its like to be a child without proper food and shelter. We call this very important event, Fill the Bowl.

The purpose of Fill the Bowl is to raise money to support The Lunch Project, an amazing charity founded by one of my church members in 2011. The Lunch Project provides a lunch program for school children in Tanzania, Africa. Over the past 3 years, our youth group has raised over $164,000, which has allowed this program to open up to 3 additional schools. Today, the Lunch project serves 5 schools, and over 4,500 children per day.

 In Charlotte, the Lunch Project's Empathy Education model teaches cultural respect and creative problem-solving skills to children through local schools and community groups.

This is my third year participating in Fill the Bowl. I have surpassed my fundraising goals for the past two years. My goal for this year is to raise $2,000. With your help, I'm sure that I will be able to reach this goal as well! If you are unable to donate, just your prayers and encouragement would mean the world to me!

To show you just how meaningful your donation can be, one lunch for one child costs 13 cents. A donation of $25 will feed 200 students for a day! With a generous donation of $100, you will feed an entire school of 800 students for a day!

I have created a personal Instagram account where I will sending updates, videos, and pictures leading up to and throughout the event. I encourage you to follow me so you can see God work through me and my friends. Here's the address:

ellieshine_ftb2020

Also, please visit and "like" the The Lunch Project Facebook page where you will find all kinds of great videos and evidence of the impact that we are making in the lives of these children.