- Target:
- New York State Assembly and House of Representatives
- Region:
- United States of America
Harry Chapin was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 7th, 1942. Harry was a singer and songwriter as well as a dedicated humanitarian. He fought to end world hunger and to make the world a better place. Harry balanced his career as a singer and his dedication to help others by having many of his concerts be benefit performances and also the sales of his concert merchandise would go to benefit an organization he co-founded called World Hunger Year.
Harry worked extremely hard to change the world around him. He co-founded the organization World Hunger Year with radio host Bill Ayres, and he also served on many of the boards of organizations on Long Island. In 1977,Harry was a key participant in the creation of the Presidential Commission on World Hunger.
It was said that Harry “Saw hunger and poverty as an insult to America” and worked to eliminate the presence of huger and poverty all across the world. Harry died at the age of 38 on July 16th, 1981. Harry’s acts of selfless and his determination to make the world a better place have inspired us to become more active in the battle against hunger and poverty in the world. So with Harry’s humanitarianism in mind, we wish to create the Harry Chapin Hunger Awareness week in the State of New York.
Designating the week of November 17 through 23, 2014, as "Harry Chapin/Hunger Awareness Week" in New York.
WHEREAS, Harry Chapin, born on December 7, 1942, in Greenwich Village, New York, was a political activist, musician and humanitarian who worked tirelessly for the end of world hunger; and
WHEREAS, His humanitarian works have reached worldwide, including inspiring the music industry hunger alleviation projects USA for Africa, Live Aid and Hands Across America, which raised millions of dollars to end world hunger; and
WHEREAS, He played over half of his more than 200 yearly concerts as benefits; and
WHEREAS, The recipient of an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary, he won Emmy and Peabody Awards, was given two Tony nominations and was nominated for a Grammy Award as "Best New Artist of the Year"; and
WHEREAS, He posthumously received the highest award that the Congress of the United States can bestow on a citizen, the Special Congressional Gold Medal, for his unceasing work to end world hunger; and
WHEREAS, He relentlessly lobbied in Washington, D.C., on behalf of world hunger and was influential in the formation of the Presidential Commission on Domestic and International Hunger and Malnutrition in 1978; and
WHEREAS, He helped found World Hunger Year in 1975, staged "hungerthons" to raise money to fight world hunger and founded the antihunger group Long Island Cares; and
WHEREAS, Hunger and issues of food security confront tens of thousands of Americans; and
WHEREAS, Hunger is the cause of daily suffering and death for millions of people around the globe; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, 49 million households were food insecure, living on small meals and skipping meals, and of all food insecure individuals were children; and
WHEREAS, One in ten households in the United States, or 33 million people, including 13 million children, experience hunger or the risk of hunger; and
WHEREAS, Each day in the developing world, 30,500 children die from preventable illnesses such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections or malaria.
WHEREAS, Malnutrition is associated with more than half of those deaths; and
WHEREAS, In the last 50 years, almost 400 million people worldwide have died from hunger and poor sanitation; therefore
Be it RESOLVED,
That the New York State Assembly and House of Representatives designate the week of November 17 through 23, 2014, as "Harry Chapin/Hunger Awareness Week" in New York and urge all New Yorkans to be mindful of the spirit and work of Harry Chapin, his musical gift, his lifetime of dedication to end the suffering caused by world hunger and his passion for ending world hunger and to carry on the effort to understand and alleviate hunger worldwide.
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