Young Catholic urges donation of money saved from Ash Wednesday fast

Published: 2007-01-03

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Rich Halvorson is counting on 10 million Americans to fast with him Ash Wednesday, Feb. 21, and to donate the money they would have spent on food to what he terms "highly efficient" charities. Halvorson, a 25-year-old Catholic from Boise, Idaho, believes the donations could reach $50 million. The charities he's contacted are themselves willing to match funds donated to accomplish specific projects. The Ash Wednesday program is called Global Fast '07 -- because Halvorson expects there to be a Global Fast '08 next year. Halvorson, a Harvard University graduate who has already written on international politics for the Miami Herald before embarking on Global Fast, said the idea came to him as he conducted a five-day fast last year. "It was a water (only) fast," Halvorson told Catholic News Service in a Dec. 21 telephone interview from Boise.

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