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Hometown! Hero, Pam Koner was reading the Sunday newspaper on her deck in 2W2 when she spotted a photograph of a girl sitting on a filthy mattress, eating her one meal of the day—pasta with chicken neck bones. A story accompanying the photograph described one of the nation's poorest places: Pembroke, a township in Kankakee County, 111. What mowed Koner most was learning that at the end of each month, the shelves of the only local food pantry, in Hopkins Park, 111. (pop. 711), were empty and some families barely had enough to eat. “When I walked off my deck that day, I said, ‘l’ve got to do something,’” recalls Koner, 34, owner and director of several creative arts-based childcare programs in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. (pop. 7,648). It didn't take long for Koner to figure out a way to help. She called the pastor of the Church of the Cross, which runs the food pantry in Hopkins Park, and pitched her idea. “I said, What if I have families in my community adopt families in yours and send them one week of food when the food pantry’s empty?’ .T I 11l l I l| ■Mr P^JfW 30-Minute Get Real Meals plus Comfort Foods: Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals, both for only $29-90, plus s/h you save 12%. Make dishes like North Country Corn Chowder, Jessicas Groovy Goulash or Manly Manny’s Chili. Or if you have a sweet tooth, try Rachaels Nutty Creamsicle Pie, Stuffed Roasted Strawberries or other surprisingly easy desserts. Please have your credit card ready and call (800) 715-6248 or send check/money order for $33-85 ($29-90 + $3-95 s/h) to Rachael Offer - Dept AP, P.O. Box 340, Harrison, AR 72602. Residents of TN, IL, AR. and NY add sales tax NSF checks will be electronically debited for the amount of the check plus applicable fees. Offer expires 3/15/06. Please allow 2-1 weeks tor delivery. Fostering ge,ger Family Ties SPECIAL OFFER Add Rachael Ray’s Cookbooks to I Your Collection - I Get Two of Her I Most Popular Books I for One Low Price! * You can own Rachael Ray’s I vnt —■—— I A newspaper article inspired Koner to help. Pam Koner, founder of Family-to-Family, and her daughter, Chloe, pack “I’m the mother of adopted children,” she added, referring to her girls, Olivia, 18, and Chloe, 15. “To me, the word adoption means ‘to make families.' ” Within a few weeks, Koner had the names of 17 families in Pembroke Township willing to be adopted, and she recruited neighbors and friends in her hometown to serve as donors. Within a month, she had linked 34 families, and the Family-to-Family program was bom. Today, through word of mouth and media coverage, the program has grown to more than 475 donor families who send monthly food parcels to 475 recipient families in 13 communities in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Louisiana, South Dakota and West Virginia. “Our mission is to have 20 com munities by next year,” Koner says. Each month, donor families log on to her website—www.family-to family.imi—to access their monthly shopping lists, which includes items such as soup, pasta, tuna fish and other pre-packaged food. In addition to food, the pregram encourages donors to send other needed items, such as over-the-counter medications, sheets, towels, clothing and back-to-school supplies. The monthly cost per donor family averages $35 to S4O. Federal Express ships more than S(X) Family-to-Family food packages free of charge each month. Lori Ratner of Stamford, Conn., lias been involved with Family-to-Fam ily for almost two years. “Without doing much, you’re doing so much,” Rat ner says. “It’s had a big impact, not only on myself, but also on my husband and my four kids. It shows them you can give in more ways than just giving money, and it shows them the little things do make a difference.” Koner acknowledges it takes time to shop for another family and pack age the food every month, but she does it because it’s more meaningful than 1 vi»J wf'A' v# ‘l**’ ' YM x fa, '■; ■ Page 4 •American Profile