March 17 - Flavia Colgan, Citizen Hunter

Guest post on Flavia Colgan's Citizen Hunter blog at the Philadelphia Daily New web page.

My friend Ryan Kellermeyer has his hands in several amazing projects. I asked him to share one of them with you and I will post about some others in the near future. Take it away, Ryan...

Since January 1, I have eaten only one bowl of rice a day and lost over 50 pounds. Flavia Colgan wanted to know why.

An African proverb states that "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito." This idea has changed my life.

I am one of the richest people in the history of the world, enjoying greater wealth than 95% of people alive today. I'm rich. But here's the trick: I only make $35,000 a year. My North Philly community is rich, but the median household income is only $19,000 (top 11%). Go to www.globalrichlist.com . Type in your income and see where you stand among the world's elite.

Now that you're rich, what are you going to do? Are you still too small to make a difference?

Over 25,000 people die every day from hunger, most of them children. That's almost everyone at a sold-out Phillies game. Daily. The UN World Food Programme says the pricetag to end hunger is $30 billion a year and totally within our reach. Americans spend $35 billion a year in weight loss products. And don't even get me started on that $170 billion we gave to AIG! Meanwhile, we give $0.35 per person per YEAR to foreign aid, most of it going to strategic allies such as Egypt, Israel, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. What is wrong with our priorities as a nation and as individuals? In this time of "Hope and Change" there are billions who need hope and we barely give them the change in our pocket.

It is an amazing time to be alive and even as I type this article I am living proof of the power you and I share. It's not just our wealth but also our access to others of equal wealth that is so empowering.

Since New Year's Eve I have eaten only 1 bowl of rice a day in solidarity with the hungry of the world. I've lost over 50 pounds so far and raised over $5,000 for hunger causes. My goal is to raise $1 million and spread the word that we can and should end hunger right now. Join me at www.SimpleSizeMe.com .

Consume less. Share more. Write to your elected officials. Talk to your family. Hunger sucks. We're rich. Giving is fun. It's time to get your mosquito on.

Ryan Kellermeyer

p.s. - I also work for an amazing community center serving children in the Hunting Park neighborhood of North Philly. www.ayudacc.org. We're having a silent auction on March 28. Take this opportunity to donate a service or item at http://tinyurl.com/Auction09 or bid at http://tinyurl.com/AuctionBids . Contact me at ryan@simplesizeme.com Thank you!