Scheduled for January 29, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cathie & Andres Fanjul, Arlette & Robert G. Gordon

PALM BEACH, Fla. (April 21, 2008) -Food For The Poor’s 2009 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures - The Best of Palm Beach gala will be held January 29, 2009 at The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. It is an honor to announce Robert G. & Arlette Gordon, will serve as Honorary Chairmen, and Andres & Cathie Fanjul, will serve as Ball Chairmen.

“It is an honor to be part of Food For The Poor’s Palm Beach gala,” said Robert G. Gordon. “I am proud to be associated with Food For The Poor and look forward to working with them further.”

Proceeds from Food For The Poor’s 2007 and 2008 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures - The Best of Palm Beach galas have raised funds to establish a self-sustaining fishing village in Bluefields, Jamaica. The 2007 gala honored Robert G. Gordon, Bailli of the Palm Beach Chaine des Rotisseurs, and named Gordon’s Village in his honor.

“We love doing this,” said Arlette Gordon, 2009 Honorary Chairwoman. “This is the second year we have been involved with Food For The Poor, and have found the second time around to be even more exciting! We hope everyone will come with us to Jamaica, to see how the gala proceeds have helped hundreds of destitute people in Jamaica. I think Food For The Poor does a terrific job!”

Proceeds from the 2008 gala, were used to continue transforming Gordon’s Fishing Village in Bluefields, Jamaica, into a vibrant community brimming with hope and human dignity. This year Food For The Poor will build additional much needed homes for the residents of the fishing village, and the construction of a school for 80 children will be undertaken to replace a facility that is in total disrepair.

The fishermen have experienced an incredible increase in their catch since they received the four new boats, gear-shed, and fishing tackle and deep-sea training. Additionally about 50 Food For The Poor housing units, several sanitation units, a water tank, and pipelines to the community has been built for destitute residents. The water tank will store extra drinking water for the community.    

“After attending last year’s Palm Beach gala, I was immediately impressed with Food For The Poor,” said Cathie Fanjul, 2009 Ball Chairwoman. “I like how the proceeds from previous galas have been used to build fishing villages. I visited Food For The Poor’s headquarters in Coconut Creek, and was again impressed by the charity. They are extremely efficient in getting the food and help to the poor. With an administrative ratio of 3.22%, more than 96% of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.”

To help break the cycle of poverty, Food For The Poor has developed long-term, sustainable solutions to improve the economic situations of communities. Villagers are taught deep-sea-fishing and business practices that are both ecologically friendly and economically sound. The reliable equipment enables the fishermen to work in deeper, more bountiful waters where there are larger and more marketable fish.

“Fishing villages are one of our main development projects at Food For The Poor,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor Executive Director. “It is wonderful that a beautiful evening supported by the Palm Beach community, can raise the economic and financial levels of entire communities; lifting residents out of a life of generational poverty and restoring their hope.”

If you are interested in building a home in Gordon’s Village, making a donation or requesting information about Food For The Poor’s - 2009 “Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures” event, please contact Carol Collins at 954-427-2222 x 6585.

Food For The Poor, the second largest international relief and development organization in the nation and the largest charity in Florida, does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 16 countries of the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. Since 1982, we have provided clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and emergency relief, with more than 96% of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For additional information, please visit the Web site www.foodforthepoor.org.