St. Luke’s Lutheran Church will host the 30 Hour Famine from 6:30pm on Friday, January 8 to 6pm on Saturday, January 9 (you’re right! that’s not 30 hours, but read on!). Any middle or high school student is welcome to participate.
Here’s how it works: Eat a normal lunch on Friday but try to include lots of protein and fiber. The famine begins when you are done with lunch.
This is a juice fast meaning that we drink water and juice for the time that we are together. If you have a medical condition or need to eat for any reason, please let us know so that arrangements can be made.
We break our fast on Saturday around 5:15pm with a very short worship service and then have a breakfast type meal. The breakfast helps us to ease back into normal eating.
Kids and adults who lead the famine try to sleep between 1 and 8am. We sleep in sleeping bags on the pews in the sanctuary so we get a sense of what it might be like to 
be homeless and have to sleep on a park bench.
Students are asked to bring sleeping bags, pillows and blankets, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and other toiletries, but no make up, hair dryers or curling irons. Electronic devices are allowed but they will be put away during group activities and during lights out.
Why do we fast? Fasting is a time when you willingly give up something so that time can be devoted to other activities.
During the 30 Hour Famine we give up food so we can have a great time playing games, learning amazing facts about hunger and doing 3 service projects, which you can count toward your SSL hours.
During what would be normal meal times we use the time to help other people. In the past 
we have picked up trash in the neighborhood, made blankets and quilts, collected canned goods for Gaithersburg and Olney HELP, made snack bags for the parents and caregivers at NIH’s Children’s Inn and made meals for the Gude Drive Men’s Shelter.
Easy Ideas to Raise Money: Our goal this year is for each student to raise enough money to feed one child for one month. That is only $35. For the cost of a family meal at fast food restaurant you can feed a child for a month!
Remember to ask your extended family, neighbors and friends to sponsor you. Let them know that $1 can feed a child for a day and $35 will feed a child for a month.
Sell your services to a family member or neighbor: Shovel the driveway, babysit, cook a meal or clean the house and be sure to let the person know that you are raising money for the 30 Hour Famine.
You can also set up your own online donation page by following these directions:
- Go to 30hourfamine.org
- Look for 2016 famine and select “sign up” button
- Select “Register Now!”
- Scroll down to “Participant Type” and select the radio button for “student”
- Select “Search” under Find a Team
- Type in “St L” with no period to find “St Luke’s Lutheran Church Youth Group” and select it
- Select “Continue to Next Step” button
- Enter Fundraising Goal and birth date here
- On the next page, enter your contact information including your email address and create a login id/password
Donations are tax deductible so be sure to give receipts to people who donate.
What do you need to do?
Bring yourself to St. Luke’s on January 8th with your:
- Donation envelope with money
- $5 (cash or check made out to St. Luke’s)
to help cover the cost of juice and food to break the fast - A sleeping bag and pillow
- Toiletries
- Good Attitude
Activities for 2016
This year we have scheduled the following community service activities for which you will earn SSL hours:
- Making blankets for Project Linus
- Canned food drive at 2 local Giant Food Stores
- Preparing meals for the Gude Drive Men’s Shelter
Since the canned food drive is outdoors, please check the weather forecast and bring appropriate clothing. We will be outside for 1-3 hours.
More questions?
- Shirley Ashcraft at shirley@theashcrafts.net
- Diane Hayes at dianefhayes@verizon.net
- Shelly Niverth at niverth@verizon.net
The 30 Hour Famine is a national youth event that is sponsored by World Vision. You can check them out at www.30hourfamine.org or www.worldvision.org