Feed the Children tries to push forward amid dispute with founder, lawsuits and a state probe

Feed the Children locked in dispute with founder

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s Larry Jones gave 20 cents to a hungry child on the streets in Haiti in 1979 and felt more could be done to help starving children.

Over the next 30 years, Jones and his family built Feed the Children, one of the world’s largest charities that became known for Jones’ heart-wrenching televised pleas for donations.

But Jones has been fired from his own charity and is in a legal fight to get his job back from the organization that’s striving to push forward amid lawsuits, a state attorney general’s investigation and watchdog groups warning people not to give it money. All of this comes as competition among nonprofits is fierce for dwindling donations in a tough economy.