Students have chance to be part of solution

Gene Racz, The (East Brunswick, N.J.) Home News Tribune

Food donated to the Treasure Coast Food Bank is seen in a warehouse in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Program helps students learn leadership skills and battle hunger
Students can also compete to win money for hunger charity

The Lead2Feed: World Hunger Leadership Challenge is looking to enlist schools nationwide in an initiative to help students hone leadership skills as they help eliminate world hunger.

Organizers hope to engage 1,000 schools across the United States in the program. The Lead2Feed: World Hunger Leadership Challenge was created by the USA TODAY Charitable Foundation and the Lift a Life Foundation, with assistance from Yum! Foundation. The Lift a Life Foundation is the family foundation of David Novak, chief executive officer of Yum! Brands, whose restaurant chains include KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

The challenge includes a free leadership program open to any middle or high school in the United States, a 10-lesson curriculum that requires minimal teacher preparation, and teamwork by students to identify a hunger-related problem, develop a solution and execute their plan.

As students develop leadership skills, they will also compete nationally to win $500,000 in prizes for a public 501(c)(3) non-profit hunger charity of their choice. One winning team will receive $25,000 for their charity. Ten teams will receive $5,000 each for their charity, and 425 teams will receive $1,000 each for their charity. The challenge ends March 29. Teachers are urged to register at lead2feed.com.

"Many school districts and some states now require service learning or community service hours for high school graduation," said Diane Barrett, president of USA TODAY Charitable Foundation. "Students will learn about how many people are suffering with not enough food to eat — a critical situation in the United States and around the world."

In the Lead2Feed challenge, students will perform team activities from Novak's book, Taking People With You, and trademarked program, which teaches that managers and leaders cannot make big things happen until they learn how to get people on their side.

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