Contact: Melanie Mullinax, Project HOPE, 540-837-9557, mmullinax@projecthope.org

MEDIA ADVISORY, April 13 /Standard Newswire/ -- Would you eat a grasshopper to help save a child’s life? Well, you may not have to eat a grasshopper, but a new program called HOPEfest is bringing families and friends together across the country to enjoy international cuisine and raise funds to support Project HOPE programs around the world.

Project HOPE, an international health education and humanitarian assistance organization, has put at the fingertips of potential HOPEfest hosts all the information they need to throw a party. From sample invitations to instructions for international-themed games to recipes for international cuisine - yes, even a recipe for grasshoppers - Project HOPE has thought of everything a person would need to hold a HOPEfest event. All this information, including a "Seven Easy Steps to Hosting," is available at www.projecthope.org.

"Who doesn't enjoy spending an evening with family and friends, having fun and dining on great food," said Becky Graninger, Director of Marketing at Project HOPE. "HOPEfest brings all this together, plus gives people the opportunity to raise funds to support Project HOPE's life-saving programs around the world."

One example of a life-saving program that HOPEfest participants would possibly support is Project HOPE's efforts to decrease the number of childhood deaths related to pneumonia worldwide. Pneumonia, while often effectively treated in the United States, is the single largest killer of children throughout the world, claiming more than two million lives annually.

In Nicaragua, Project HOPE targeted an area within the country where nearly a third of all infant and child deaths are attributed to pneumonia. Project HOPE is working to supply area clinics with medicine and to train local health personnel to properly prescribe and administer the medications. In addition, Project HOPE is reaching out to mothers and other caregivers, educating them on how to recognize the symptoms of pneumonia while it is still treatable.

The Nicaraguan program is one example of the health-improving and life-saving programs Project HOPE operates in 31 countries. Details about Project HOPE's other programs are provided on the HOPEfest Webpage in a user-friendly format to assist potential hosts to better explain the health challenges and solutions that Project HOPE delivers.

"People want to help others, but sometimes life gets in the way. Project HOPE has created an easy, flexible solution for people who want to make a difference," added Graninger. "The HOPEfest concept is simple and adaptable to small dinner family dinners and neighborhood block parties alike and it can be hosted any time during the year."

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems, with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now conducts land-based medical training, health education and humanitarian assistance programs across five continents. For more information, please visit www.projecthope.org.