Cindy Cavalieri has been organizing fundraising events for the World Food Program in Alexandria for the past four years. In previous years, the events have involved walkathons, but this year Cavalieri found a backer: On Thursday, Chicken Out in Alexandria donated 20 percent of all sales to the program, which distributes food from countries with a surplus to countries with very little.
Why have the fundraiser at a restaurant this year?
People [could] just come have dinner and donate. With this economy it’s hard to ask anyone to give up money, but with this they don’t have to do anything more than just have dinner.
How did you get involved with the World Food Program?
About four years ago, an e-mail crossed my path about the program. This first year I got involved, it was a local walk that took place along with walks around the world. … It helped that my daughter, then in high school, liked the idea and it was something that we could do together.
What have you done in previous years?
The first year was the walk, joining in with others across the world. The second year was a little different because we timed the walk with Mother’s Day, which I think helped us get a big turnout. Last year we set up camp on the George Washington Parkway bike path and put fliers in people’s hands.
How are you connected to the D.C.-based volunteers for the World Food Program?
I’m sort of a rogue person in Alexandria and I just try to bring my community of friends and neighbors together. We’re all so good at taking care of each other in the community. This movement gets people to think outside of our borders. That’s hard to do, to stop and back up and get people to realize how lucky we are and how much is needed elsewhere. … The World Food Program is about there being enough food for everyone, it’s just a matter of distribution.
