Founder's Daughter Joins Heifer International as Church and Community Relations Director

Heifer Project International
Sunday, 1 August 1999

LITTLE ROCK, AR — Heifer International, the nonprofit development organization that works worldwide to alleviate hunger and poverty through the gift of livestock and training in its care, has appointed Janet West Schrock as Church and Community Relations Director.

Formerly, Schrock was director of Special Projects for the National Council of Churches Ecumenical Program for Urban Service/Americorps in New York City. Her background also includes 28 years in the field of education, including service as a classroom teacher, a special needs teacher and an administrator, both in the United States and abroad.

Schrock has also served as director of Brethren Volunteer Service, and The Lab School Night School in Washington, DC. She has completed course work for a Master of Theology degree in Peace Studies from Bethany Theological Seminary. She holds a Master of Adult Education degree from American University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Manchester College.

Schrock is the daughter of Dan West, who founded Heifer International while serving as a Church of the Brethren relief worker during the Spanish Civil War. Assigned to pass out powdered milk to children on both sides of the conflict, he grieved when the supply of milk ran out with children still waiting in line. It occurred to him that, "Not a cup, but a cow" was needed. This simple idea lives on as the cornerstone of Heifer's mission today.

"I am so pleased to become a part of this organization that was founded by my father over 50 years ago," says Schrock. "I firmly believe, as he did, that peace will come and hunger will go when we, as people of faith, live as one global family. I will work toward engaging youth more directly in Heifer Project experiences, so that they will carry on the tradition of 'living simply so that others may simply live.'"

Since 1944, Heifer International has provided struggling families a way to become self-reliant for food and income. Through the gift of livestock and training, a family can obtain milk, eggs, wool and other income-producing benefits to feed, clothe and educate their children. Each gift multiplies because every family that receives a Heifer Project animal promises to "pass on the gift" by giving one or more of their animal's offspring to another family in need.

Heifer International currently supports over 300 projects in 40 countries, including the United States, that create sustainable small-scale farm enterprises to improve nutrition and supplement income. Local community groups conceive and manage Heifer projects, empowering them to solve their own problems and equipping the next generation to face challenges successfully.

For more information, or to contact Heifer Project International, see their website at: www.heifer.org