228th Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

Near where Sabino Canyon Road turns into Kolb Road I noticed way up in front of me on the left a 15-foot-tall or so Dust Devil picking up lots of debris and the courage to cross the road. I was fascinated by the gyrations and failed to notice that the Dust Devil was heading east about as fast as I was heading north.

Both of the windows in the pickup were open as my eyes darted back and forth watching the read ahead of me and the whirling dervish.

When I thought that it might be a good idea to roll up my window it was too late. Like a shotgun blast, dust and pebbles sprayed my truck and my face flinging my hat out the passenger side window.

“Forget the hat, I’m not going back,” I thought. “That thing was falling apart and I need a new one anyway.”

Still smarting from the dust and grit slap in the face, I checked the rear view mirror for any signs of blood. Nope, no blood.

As I continued toward the foothills I assessed what just happened. That could have been very messy but I did not defocus from driving through the onslaught. That part I liked. Then my thoughts turned to the stupid part where I was mesmerized by a Dust Devil, I failed to roll up the window in time, and I mourned my disintegrating hat. That admonition wiped that prideful grin right off my face.

The humiliation continued later when I arrived at my destination. Upon exiting the pickup I had to dust the whole front of my body off, my face and hair and even my left ear.

The next morning it took nearly 30 minutes to vacuum all of the dirt and gravel out of the passenger compartment and there are only two seats. Also my poor pock marked truck has even more pock marks now.

In the afternoon I was beginning get back to normal when I got a text message from a stranger.

“Barbara…where can I leave a can of food 4U”

That message perked me up even more. The address Barbara gave was on the corner of Miles and Vine, a house that had been in transition for some time since the police asked the former occupant to come out with his hands up.

Someone had moved in but I did not know who since the gate was always locked. I texted back I could stop by at 3 pm and Barbara agreed.

This time the gate wasn’t locked and I got to meet our terrific new neighbor. Barbara recently retired from a career in aeronautical drafting. And funny thing, she said she had seen the pickup round the neighborhood but didn’t do anything until the wind blew a One Can A Week Thank You note into her yard. She checked out our program on the internet and then sent me that text message.

What is it they say? “It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good.” Never really understood that negative/positive idiom until now. It means most winds are not “ill” even if they destroy folks’ property because carpenters then get the benefit of rebuilding those homes.

A wind that both beats you up and then helps you? That’s a new twist, I think.

It’s Not Getting Any Better

A new book out from the Brookings Institute states that poverty in the suburbs now surpasses the cities with 16.5 million poor to 13 million. In addition, the suburbs have far fewer social programs to provide any assistance exacerbating the problem.

My Miles Neighbors and I see the situation and are bailing as fast as we can. Wonder what all of the others are waiting for?

We collected a total of 160 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $48.00, two checks totaling $35.00 and $13.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

227th Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

It was just a little after 3 pm Friday as I drove down Vine Street next to the Miles School. Suddenly I was flagged down by the driver in the opposite lane. It was Tiffany Kassel and she was all smiles. “We collected just over 2,500 lbs. of food this year,” she said.

I stopped in my tracks and rolled the window the rest of the way down. It was unusual that no one was behind either of us so we chatted for a minute or more.

“Last year,’ Tiffany continued, “we collected 1,100 lbs. At the beginning of this school year I set our goal at 2,500 lbs. and we made it.”

The difference we surmised was her friendly and relentless reminders to the kids. “I told them if they forgot their food,” Tiffany said, “they could donate some small amount of change, whatever they had. Their parents liked this option also and often gave a dollar or two when they were in a rush.”

We said goodbye and slowly drove off in different directions. But I’ll bet we were both thinking the same thing. Whether you stop by folks’ homes every Sunday or you say something every week just before collection day at the office or school, nobody really considers that reminder to feed hungry kids and their parents a bother or a nuisance.

I do it all the time and so does Tiffany and we collect a heck of a lot of food. And we never see any of those exasperated looks either that persistent sales people often get.

Fascinating. When I present One Can A Week to individuals or organizations the first reaction is they shutter at the thought of approaching another human being. The phrase “drop off” is generally included in the first sentence they utter.

After that brief drive by conversation I had with Tiffany and some reflection, I now know what to say to those reticent to engage someone in a conversation about helping a fellow human being in deep trouble.

When people agree to participate in One Can A Week, they want to see you every week and just love the fact that you are thoughtful and, yes, considerate enough to help them remember an obligation they too want to keep … relentlessly.

Cheryl Crow is the celebrity spokesperson for One A Day Women’s Nutrition Mission. I learned this fact after opening an email sent to me by Kristen Hershberger, the Volunteer Manager at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

Here’s how Ms. Crow described her mission:

“…this year, in addition to donating up to 2 million more meals ($250,000), the Nutrition Mission is celebrating and honoring those who make exemplary efforts to fight hunger in their communities by awarding four $25,000 grants to Feeding America food banks in local communities. The winners will be announced this September and one of the four winners will be selected to meet me in my second home, New York, to help further raise awareness of the great work being done to fight hunger. So share your stories. Together we can make a real difference.”

I stayed up late to finish the 2,500 character (with spaces) story about One Can A Week and then clicked send. We won’t hear anything from One A Day (notice the conceptual similarities in our names) until September and only if the Community Food Bank wins the $25,000 grant.

Of course I didn’t mind working late for the Food Bank because if you remember, way back in the beginning I got a similar email from Pauline Hechler, the former Director of Development who told me about a $500 grant I could win from Quaker Oats. I did win that one and the money paid for the signage on the Cabriolet.

In my world, favors always get favors.

Lots of Kentucky Derby Winners

Every year my friends John and Heidi host a fun derby party with wagers, wonderful food and whimsical hats. When Orb crossed the finish line first this year, not only did he win but so did John and One Can A Week.

John picked up his winnings and approached the other lucky gambler. “I’m going to donate my winnings to the food bank, what do you thing?” That kind of question always gets a pause and then “Oh, yeah, me, too” response. John won again and the community food bank picked up a sweet $110.00.

We collected a total of 163 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $155.00, a $25.00 check and $130.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

226th Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

A week ago Sunday I stopped by Sprouts (formerly Sunflower Market) on Speedway and Swan to pick up a bottle of Eskimo-3 fish oil capsules. While on my way out I stopped to introduce myself to a manager-looking follow near the front door and discovered that Richard Rodriquez was still the manager. That says a lot about Sprouts because they kept a good manager in place when they took over.

On Monday after dropping off the donations at the food bank, I headed back to Sprouts. There Richard was standing near the booths up front opposite the cash registers. I was really glad to see him.

We exchanged pleasantries and he said he wanted to again provide the services of One Can A Week to his customers. He reminded me that under Sunflower management he had more autonomy but he now has to confer with management in Phoenix before we can move forward.

As I left I handed him a document called “A Business Solution to Ending Hunger in America” that I prepared describing One Can A Week’s history at the Rincon Market, Safeway and the Sunflower Market. He assured me the information would help and he will get back to me soon.

Well, that lifted my spirits and it was only 11 am. I decided to drive over to Costco on Grant and Craycroft to try my luck there.

While waiting to talk to the very tall and very muscular greeter I thought only a fool would try to get something by him on his watch. When it was my turn to speak he listened and then directed me to the manager station past the food court.

Sarah was the first person in a red vest I approached. She, too, listened attentively, thought a moment and wrote the name and phone number of the person I should call on a piece of scrap paper. As I left, Sarah said she understood and liked the One Can A Week concept. Another spirit booster.

On Thursday I reached James Harris the warehouse manager and he told me that Costco does not allow any charities to collect donations at any of their location. That made sense to me but I said that One Can A Week was more of a sales promotion and customer service program. It did not matter but he did give me the company’s headquarters phone number.

The next person I was directed to speak to was the assistant to the West Coast Senior VP of Operations. Again the conversation was open and very friendly but still I got the same answer. Also, I could not get through to her boss, the VP.

I really liked talking to the folks at Costco even though each conversation was a disappointment. Most companies today hide behind a recorded wall of “Dial 1, Dial 2…” There is never a way to really reach anyone or ask a question.

I now like Costco’s CEO, Craig Jelinke even more than I did before this encounter. If you remember, he’s the one who favors raising the minimum wage and he treats his people with a great deal of respect. It shows because in turn, they really respect their customers.

Something else I realized was his people follow policy to the letter. Consequently, if I want to get a hearing I have to go to the top.

Instead of getting back on the phone I decided to return to days of old and send a letter … over the transom, if you will.

Dear Mr. Jelinek,

Business is going to solve all of our social ills. I know that for sure, however, you may like this concept but are skeptical.

Let’s take hunger, for example. For the past three years I have been working with Ron Abbott the owner of the Rincon Market, a landmark neighborhood store in Tucson, AZ. Ron has donated over 5,000 lbs. of food in 2012 to the Community Food Bank and all of that food was paid for by his customers. And they are very happy to do so.

This is how One Can A Week works at the Rincon Market. Customers donate cash averaging from $90 – $220 per week. That money is used to buy food at retail; e.g., rice for $1.29 or canned vegetables for $0.99, etc. The customers also buy food themselves and leave it in a Community Food Bank box. All the items are delivered to the food bank on Monday.

Of course, your operation would be more food and less cash donated by the customers.

One Can A Week is a low key and very consistent promotion. A small sign near the cash registers will do. In addition, your participation should be noted in your flyers and on your website. Lastly, a local food bank box should be on displayed in the front of each store.

The best part of One Can A Week is the program is in the public domain. I decided to do that shortly after I created the concept because I am only interested in feeding hungry kids and their parents and I need lots of help.

Now imagine if a powerhouse supermarket took on the One Can A Week concept and applied some solid strategic thinking to the idea. That supermarket would sell a great deal more food and never have to give any food away again.

Right now at Costco the answer is no. This means if my letter causes anything to happen it can only be positive. Over the transom or not, I like the olds.

Even More To Come

At present Frank Flasch has 10 Old Ft. Lowell Neighborhood HOAs participating in his One Can A Week – Four Cans A Month program. And so far this year they have donated 2,182 lbs. of food and $902 in cash to the Community Food Bank.

In a month Frank will have two more HOAs join his team bringing the number of participants up to an even dozen. That’s got to be some kind of record.

We collected a total of 184 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $32.00, a $25.00 check and $8.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

225th Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project 

“Mayor says yes to the first 3 things on the list.”

That’s all Karla Avalos-Soto, Mayor Rothschild’s Health and Human Services Advisor had to say to me in an email I got last Tuesday. By Friday I had a number of projects in motion.

This all started in late March when Karla and I met in their conference room to discuss:

1. Tell city employees about the possibility of participating in a One Can A Week virtual food drive featured on the Community Food Bank website. This makes it easier than toting food donations to the office.

2. Starting a One Can A Week program in the Sam Hughes Neighborhood after talking to John O’Dowd, the president of the neighborhood association.

3. Having the mayor recommend some business leaders who might want to become sponsors of One Can A Week.

4. Find out who I should talk to in Karla’s neighborhood to begin a One Can A Week program there.

In the follow up email to her succinct note the day before Karla wrote:

“1) I will ask mayor to check in with the dept. heads to let them know about the program and your meeting request. After that I can get back with you so you can proceed.

2) I think mayor was going to talk to Mr. Dowd but I will clarify.

3) I will ask mayor about sponsorship ideas and a meeting.”

I know John O’Dowd because he’s the one who told me how to soundproof the Miles School Gym last year. I called him first thing Wednesday morning and left a message. Right after lunch he called back and we talked for some time. That conversation produced a meeting with the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association Executive Committee on May 21st and information that a new fraternity in the neighborhood, Theta Chi was looking to engage in more neighborhood community service.

That evening my friend Davis Bauer at Sigma Alpha Mu sent me names and numbers so I could call the president of Theta Chi. Friday I spoke to and then emailed Tony Garvey the chapter president. He replied Sunday night.

“Peter, I forwarded your email to my community service chair. As the semester comes to a close, it is hard to start planning anything else this semester. School is over this week and guys won’t be in town anymore. My community service chair did say that he would be contacting you for more information for next semester community service. Thank you for your time.”

One of my goals is to encourage more folks in the Sam Hughes Neighborhood to get as involved in One Can A Week as the Abbott Family at the Rincon Market. If this past week is any indication, we going to achieve that important milestone in the fall.

All’s well …

A couple of months back, Gary Hardy, a participant at the Academy Village, called to say some folks from the Empire High School in Vail would be contacting me soon. They were interested in starting a One Can A Week program. That call never came until today. Matt Donaldson, Empire’s principal wanted to apologize for something or other and I assured him when things go slow or never happen, I know how the story ends. I sell ideas all of the time and no reaction means no. So I press on.

At the close of our conversation Matt told me he had over 200 cans of food the students collected and wondered if I could pick them up. That’s happening today around noon.

Nobody calls than somebody calls and I get to take nearly 200 lbs. of food to the Food Bank. I’m happy and I know Gary will be, too. Sometimes nothing is something.

We collected a total of 184 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $26.00, a $25.00 check and $1.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Just a Bump in the Road
On Thursday I picked up the remaining food bank boxes at the Mayor’s office. When I got home I sent Mayor Rothschild an email expressing my sadness because the program was over.

Within an hour he replied, stating emphatically, “we have not ended the program.” Then he went on to say, “I must admit I have not gotten the response I would like … we will continue to try to collect.”

Great, he’s not giving up … and I’m not giving up … and there’s another reason why I voted for him.

The Mayor’s office donated 28 lbs. of food this week.

Coordinating Efforts

“We’re now talking to the same folks, and we don’t want to confuse things.

Part of the discussion in Tuesday’s meeting covered One Can A Week’s involvement with the Rincon Market. A converted mayonnaise jar with a simple sign—generating from $90 – $260 per week—made quite a hit and sparked a little competitive show and tell. A minute or two after presenting the Rincon Market’s collection jar, the Community Food Bank’s green bucket suddenly made an appearance. Pictured from the left, Lou Medran, Food Drive and Gleaning Coordinator, Melissa Wieters, Vice President of Development, Peter Norback and Bill Carnegie, CEO, Community Food Bank.

On April 3rd I sent an email to Jim Click asking to meet to discuss my experiences at the Rincon Market. Specifically I was hoping he might introduce me to the management of Fry’s and Safeway in Phoenix.

As a way of referencing my credibility, I mentioned both Bill Carnegie and Mayor Rothschild in the email, whom I also copied, of course. A couple of days later I was invited by Melissa Wieters to an April 22nd meeting at the Community Food Bank.

I figured the main focus would be on my Rincon Market story so I prepared a thorough chronology of how Barbara Farragut and I began the process of collecting food at supermarkets. It was three months into One Can A Week and the assistant manager at Safeway on Campbell and Broadway let us set up a table. This new approach to collecting food was Barbara’s idea. When Safeway collections ended because we were not on their official charity promotion list, I moved over to the Rincon Market and the Sunflower Market.

To help create a solid visual image of the Rincon Market’s program I brought along a duplicate of the actual donation jar which collects a minimum of $400 each month. That former mayonnaise jar did its job and captured everyone’s attention.

I also explained that all I want from those huge supermarket retailers is permission to place a collection jar somewhere in each store and a Community Food Bank box with a large One Can A Week sign on it. Since there are only 18 Safeway store in Tucson, it would keep me busy but I could manage picking up the donations each week.

Since I had this golden opportunity to speak to top management at the food bank, I also put another idea in my folder.

To switch subjects, I said, and I quote because I had it written down: “When people think about hungry kids as often as they think about their own need to eat, hunger in America will go away.”

“Make Them Think” Campaign
Bill Carnegie was the catalyst for this idea When we talked during the Volunteer Appreciation gathering at the Tucson Art Museum a couple of weeks ago he said people are not aware of the many reasons we have hunger in America.

Since that conversation I have been thinking about unique ways to educating folks without saying the word education. This brought to mind a Halls Mentho-Lyptus spot that ran in my hometown of St. Louis some time back. It only lasted 10 seconds and showed a close up shot of an older, round faced gentleman popping a lozenge into his mouth. He then spends the rest of the precious seconds scrunching his face in response to the sour taste.

The announcer in a voice-over said: “Halls Menthol-Lyptus throat lozenges – Anything that tastes that bad has got to be good.”

Sales of Halls doubled in the next couple of weeks simple because the company was truthful and provocative in telling that truth by mocking themselves a bit.

Food Bank 10 Second PSA Spot
Two spots were presented but one will do here. The image is a back shot of a big kid sitting next to a regular sized kid at a school lunch table. The Community Food Bank logo is on the bottom of the frame. The voice-over announcer says: “Guess which kid spends the least amount of money on food?” (Pregnant pause) “Guess again.”

The provocative aspect of this commercial is the viewer is mocked a bit and the answer will only be clear to those who understand diet and weight control. Cheap food contains the least amount of nutrients and the highest amount of fat and sugar. Six of these PSAs only take up 1 minute of airtime but will have a profound effect because they will run daily.

Bill really liked the educational aspect of the PSA spot idea and will get back to me shortly after he returns from vacation. So all in all, that was one of the best and most productive One Can A Week meetings I have had in some time.

Special Note: No response from Mr. Click yet.

When School’s Out
Nina Straw, the Tucson Blessings in a Backpack coordinator covering Bloom Elementary (near Pantano and E. Pima) sent me an email Tuesday bringing me up to date on her critical work.

Blessing in a Backpack, she wrote, ”…feeds 68-73 children every Friday with a weekend backpack containing 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and a snack 38 weekends during the school year. We are supposed to get another 150 children next year from Schumaker Elementary which is closing, and many of those children might be eligible for our program. It costs us $80.00 to feed one child for the entire school year, or $2.10 a weekend.

“We are having a huge fundraiser Saturday, May 4th at HARLEY DAVIDSON. If you could spread the word, we would appreciate it. We need to raise a lot more money in hopes of feeding all who needs it.”

Besides being my birthday, May 4th is going to be a great day to hang around Tucson Harley Davidson. They will have all kinds of family activities starting at 9 am and lasting until near sunset. Put it on your calendar. Tucson Harley Davidson is located at 7355 N I-10 EB Frontage Road. Call 520-751-3380 for more information and then party on.

Just Plain Beautiful

One of the eight artful and intriguing Tuffets in our Arroyo Chico Park

You have to see these magnificent Tuffets for yourself because no photograph could do them justice. Mary Lucking an artist from Phoenix created these magical tile and cement Tuffets with images so exciting you see something new every time you look at them. The colors are amazingly vivid and there is humor in every corner of the circular seat.

To tell you the truth, there should be little plain curved stone benches around these terrific pieces of art so you can sit and just stare at them. I for one cannot bring myself to park my bottom on them out of a deep respect for the artist and her inspiring work.

Go take a walk in the park and see if you don’t agree that we are very lucky to live here in the Miles Neighborhood.

UA Campus Pantry Update
Davis Bauer got enough of a break from his finals and LSAT classes to drop me a line. The Pantry Board decided to eliminate the Cat Points requirement and they “had by far the biggest turnout of the year this past month.” They also expanded board membership and experienced “quite the influx of applications.”

The sorority program is growing also. “Two more sororities are looking to get on the bandwagon next semester.”

What a great way to end the school year and kick off the next.

We collected a total of 164 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $42.00, a $25.00 check and $17.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

223rd Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

For the last couple of years I have been using a description of a packed football game at the U of A to help folks visualize what 40,000 kids would look like. That mass of kids—which is all around us—struggles every single day to get enough food to eat.

On Thursday while at lunch at the Blue Fin Restaurant with my friend Bill—a new computer client—we were talking about One Can A Week and he asked what keeps me so motivated. My reply was the kids. I could see that he had no real image in his mind for such a massive number of needy kids. So I brought up the U of A stadium on a fall Saturday afternoon. Bill is a big sports fan and I knew he probably attended innumerable games.

The capacity crowd at the stadium is 56,000 and no matter where you sit on the lower level, the number of folks in your field of vision would be somewhere around 40,000. It’s a sea of red.

Our conversation got quiet for a few seconds and then Bill said, “I had no clear definition of what 40,000 kids looked like. Now I do. That is startling.”

When I first began One Can A Week and heard how many kids and their parents were going without food, that was enough for me. I did not need to be told anything else to jump in to help. I guess being more of a creative type my empathy button rests closer to the surface. If that’s not you, just imagine every time you attend a U of A football game that all those folks looking back at you are kids here in town facing hunger … every single day. That should make you want to do something about it.

The image above works for me…and I will keep on imagining those thousands upon thousands of hungry kids until I feed them all … three solid meals a day like the rest of us.

A Going Away Present

Every year Merv and Judi Wingard who live at the Academy Village spend the Tucson summer in much cooler Oregon. Before they left Judi let me know One Can A Week won’t skip a beat.

“…just wanted you to know that Merv and I will be heading to Oregon in another week. But the Academy Village One Can A Week program continues as neighbors bring cans and cash to our community center. We have six folks in our community who will continue to remind, collect, and take food to the Food Bank each month.

“Thanks again for inspiring our village to help make a difference.”

No vacation for One Can A Week and that’s a good thing.

We collected a total of 172 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $32.00, a $25.00 check and $7.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

What’s the best way to determine if there is a huge problem

with hunger in America?

Every year the Community Food Bank pays tribute to its “valued volunteers” by throwing a very tasteful little party in their honor somewhere intriguing in the Tucson area. This year it was held Thursday afternoon at the Tucson Museum of Art. The Pete Swan Trio provided the background music and Café a la C’Art served an endless stream of fruit and chocolate and whipped cream petit fours in the Moore Courtyard.

I was there with my high school friend Merle Stolar sitting on a comfortable wall about 25 feet from the serving tables. We could see the array of petit fours but the distance helped to curb the cravings.

A little before the crowd appeared Bill Carnegie, the CEO of the Community Food Bank walked over to join us. Merle, ever friendly and inquisitive as always, asked Bill about his background and how he ended up in Tucson. In a few minutes I learned why the Food Bank is one of the best run nonprofits in the country. Bill is a career military man and while in the service earned his bachelor’s degree. At his first job out of the service he earned his Masters in nonprofit management.

Inside view of CFB warehouse – Big as Costco but never full.

What I was curious about was the public’s apparent lack of empathy for hungry folks. Feeding America is always showing photos of people in need and that does not seem to strike a chord with those who are not hungry. Bill’s response took me by surprise. “Many people,” he said, “question why they are hungry if so many are overweight. That is why we only accept healthy food, teach how to grow self sustaining gardens and promote healthy living.”

Really? On my drive home I thought, “People in general don’t know enough about the diets of the poor and invisible to know that they eat—when they can—very inexpensive carbohydrates and fats. Have these questioning people ever visited a convenience store or a bodega or listened to the news on TV or the internet?” Amazing!

Maybe the answer to push people’s empathy button is to do what I do with every new One Can A Week coordinator. We meet at the back door of the Community Food Bank and we walk up the ramp into the warehouse together. I stop them about 15 feet inside the door and suggest they look around. After a few seconds I ask, “What’s the first thing you thought about? What’s your first impression?’

Most stumble for an answer so I jump in quickly. “Look at this place. It’s huge. The building is huge. Big as a Costco. And this is America. We only have big building when we do big things. When we do small things, the buildings are tiny. Obviously, hunger here in Tucson is way out of control. Look at the size of this place?”

At this point I’m a bit animated but my guest is almost always silent and stunned. The good thing is after my enthusiastic cause and effect analysis, the coordinator sticks with his or her program week after week.

So education—actually, in your face kind of practical education—is the key to get folks to see the world as it really is.

The next time you are on the road, go check out the local food bank. It will be huge. And many of the poor kids and their parents are too; because they are eating stuff people with no money eat … carbs and fats. It all makes sense now, doesn’t it?

More the Merrier

There are 9 HOAs participating in the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood One Can A Week – Four Cans a Month program, as they like to call it, and their totals keep going up. In the first quarter of 2013, Frank Flasch reports in an email that they dropped off 1,616 lbs. of food and $662 in cash at the food bank.

It wasn’t long before Ann Sajecki, Frank’s neighbor chimed in.”…don’t forget,” she wrote, “the Feinstein Foundation* is making a partial match of all food and money donated until the end of April.”

Now who could forget that?

We collected a total of 184 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $31.00, a $25.00 check and $6.00 in cash.

*”Founded in 1991 by Alan Shawn Feinstein, the Feinstein Foundation is dedicated to the alleviation of hunger, the importance of community service in education and the values of caring, compassion and brotherhood.” The foundation is located in Rhode Island.

See you Sunday,

Peter

221st Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

When we add our current quarter totals (2,971 lbs.) to our total Miles Neighborhood donations to the Community Food Bank since January, 2009 we get 52,339.5 lbs. of food. The cash donations move up to $11,036.90.

In people terms, the food we donated fed 13,420 kids and their parents three meals in one day.

Changing the dollar figure into equivalent poundage, we fed an additional 14,716 kids and their parents three meals in one day. That’s a grand total of 28,136 people. Amazing!

No wonder we’re fired up and ready to go.

Formula for turning dollars into pounds.

Total money donated x 9 ÷ $2.25 per meal x 1.3 lbs per meal = pounds donated

Example: $11,036.90 x 9 = $99,332.10 ÷ $2.25 = 44,147.60 x 1.3 = 57,391.88 lbs. donated

http://www.licares.com/staff/information/LIC_Meal_Cost_Calculation.pdf

Blame It On the Truck

Thursday’s Food Bank Delivery

Monday’s Food Bank Delivery

Ever since the truck arrived in early January, a new One Can A Week energy began to take hold here and around the country. Mayor Rothschild’s One Can A Meeting program sparked interest moments after he typed in a note in his scheduling emails to donate. Gary and Karen Hardey from Academy Village called to say they are working with the Vail High School on a One Can A Week campaign. And near Philadelphia, a sophomore at Swarthmore College won a $20,000 scholarship to build a One Can A Week contribution/social website.

On Wednesday, Maen Mdanat of Axis fame, collected $200 over the past quarter and decided to purchase 2 for $1.00 Libby vegetables at Albertson’s. That deal netted 408 cans weighing in at 436 lbs. (See top photo.)

Then Thursday, Davis Bauer, junior and marketing director for the UA Campus Pantry called to say he worked out a deal with his board members to donate to Miles now for later consideration. They just received 264 lbs. of food from the Immanuel Presbyterian Church Deacons and

the Presbyterian Campus Ministry. The storage space the Pantry has available would not accommodate the gift and besides the semester ends in a little over a month.

Davis said we can have the food if in the fall they can call on us to help replenish their supplies. That deal is already set up with the Rincon Market so yes, of course, we’ll take the food. (See photo just above.)

Obviously, it’s the truck. Why? Because it never fails … once a person gets a truck, neighbors just seem to hatch new ways to help him or her fill it up.

Most charities lump everything together under donations. This can be confusing and unsettling for the donor. Especially when he or she thought the gift was to feed someone and instead an office chair was purchased or a salary paid. With this concern in mind, One Can A Week is creating a new model of trust when it comes to donations.

One Can A Week will not become a 501(c)3* nonprofit. For tax purposes this type of business structure is required to file quarterly reports. In turn, those reports mandate lawyers and accountants.

Unfortunately, without a 501(c)3 status, it is difficult to raise operational funds because organizations and companies that award grants and gifts insist on a charity being a 501(c)3 before they will get involved. More tax motivated behavior.

To keep One Can A Week operational costs as simple as the One Can A Week concept itself, I pay for everything out of my monthly $1,500 social security check and freelance computer training work. And those costs are so low I do not itemize deductions.The good new is One Can A Week is expanding locally and nationally.

The distressing news on my part is operational cost such as truck maintenance, printing and lunch meetings with potential participants, etc. are also expanding beyond my ability to pay.Since every can and every penny donated to One Can A Week is given directly to the Community Food Bank,

I need some help paying for operational costs. I call that help sponsorship. A sponsor’s donation becomes my personal income for tax purposes and is used to keep our One Can A Week program and me moving forward. (If your annual donation is over $600 you can issue a 1099 because I am an independent contractor who is working on the One Can A Week program.)

And in keeping with the One Can A Week philosophy, the donations should be small and consistent. Of course, I will keep meticulous accounting records and produce quarterly reports as I do for the food and dollar donations to the Community Food Bank.

In addition your name and donation will be protected with every fiber of my body. That is why I chose PayPal. They are trusted and you can either donate with your PayPal account or most credit cards.Thanks for listening and I hope you can become a sponsor. If not, just know that I will always press forward even if it’s slower than I like.

To become a sponsor just click the linked words. It will take you to the One Can A Week blog and you can then click the Donate button in the upper right column.

 

Special Note: As I have written about in earlier posts, the Community Food Bank operates on 3% of revenues donated and that is incredible. They are one of the very best “good guys” in the nonprofit business.

*This is the IRS tax regulation governing nonprofits.

 

Only A Two Column Photo Would Do This week there was lots of food and a new precedent had to be set. A single column photo could not cover so much generosity.All the produce in the front of the cart was donated by Miles Neighbors. All the rest of the food outside the cart was donated by the UA Campus Pantry, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church Deacons and the Presbyterian Campus Ministry.We collected a total of 888 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $66.00, two checks for $55.00 and $11.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter

Hi Folks, 

… Update …

At the bottom of Mayor Rothschild’s scheduling email is this note. “You can join the Mayor’s “One Can a Meeting” program. Just bring a non-perishable food item to your meeting. There’s a Food Bank collection box right in the conference room.”

That message is getting through. This week the Mayor’s office collected 39 lbs. of food.

A rough graphic of the map section on the proposed farepath website I created after speaking to Jason

for a half hour. The farepath logo is official.

“My name is Jason Heo, and I’m a sophomore at Swarthmore College, right outside Philadelphia. A couple of years ago, I came across the One Can A Week program as a high school senior in southern Indiana.”

That’s how Jason introduced himself to me in an email on Tuesday. He went on to say how his family after arriving from South Korea years ago struggled in the beginning but are now achieving some success in building a life in America. Jason goes on to write…  “Because my father was an international graduate student, once I was born, my parents certainly encountered some difficulties making ends meet. Fortunately my parents were the type to go through great lengths to guarantee the success of their children. With governmental aid through Head Start and Medicaid, my family was eventually able to reach a more stable socioeconomic class before too long. Through good fortune, I was able to avoid becoming one out of five or six children going hungry everyday. However, and I’m sure you would agree with me, many Americans are much less lucky than I am.”

Later on in his email he turns to One Can A Week, “Additionally, I was so inspired by your progress and expansion through the One Can A Week program, I began my own in the Swarthmore community. I was extremely pleased with how fairly simple your model was, yet so effective. However, I believed that the introduction of technology into the program could be that much more beneficial.”

This is where the scholarship comes in. Jason applied for and won a Lang Opportunity Scholarship that rewards “distinguished academic and extra-curricular achievement, leadership qualities, and demonstrated commitment to civic and social responsibility.” He will receive up to $10,000 for his technological project plus $5,000 per year for two years of graduate study. (The Lang Opportunity Scholarships program is an endowment created by Eugene M. Lang from the class of 1938.)

What Jason is going to build is a secure website for One Can A Week participants, whether whole neighborhoods or individuals. Folks will be able to view maps and information to see how everyone else is doing in the quest to eliminate hunger in cities across America. The website will create a community in the neighborhoods and online at the same time. This is especially appealing to Jason’s generation.

The website will also create contacts for help with delivery to the local food bank every week. Donated food in cities will begin to flow and there will be all kinds of transportation opportunities available for participants. A flash notice on the website will have someone at your door in a few hours to help you out.

The other element I discussed with Jason was the friendly competition aspect. Everyone can see who is doing what in the neighborhood or group and this can help up the ante in donations.

Jason closed his email by telling me … “I’m currently collecting donations from about 20 households through this academic semester to collect data while also working on building different aspects of the technological platform. I really just wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation for what you’ve created in the One Can A Week program. I would really enjoy being able to speak with you to hear more about your program and talk to you about the different aspects of mine.”

Well, that last part about talking? That’s going to happen a lot. Anyone who is helping to make One Can A Week better and more efficient has my undivided attention.

Campus Pantries Growing On NBC News the other night they featured a story about hungry college kids across the country. There are at least 50 pantries in operation at 50 major universities and colleges. We have one here at the University of Arizona. Good heavens, folks, this is a wake up call. Pretty soon pantries will be everywhere, even at banks and corporations.

And this is not an exaggeration. In a Huffington Post story today, “Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston for Tax Analysts” stated that “Incomes for the bottom 90 percent of Americans only grew by $59 on average between 1966 and 2011 (when you adjust those incomes for inflation). During the same period, the average income for the top 10 percent of Americans rose by $116,071, Johnston found.”

 Another good heavens!

 We collected a total of 209 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $32.50, a $25.00 check and $7.50 in cash.

 See you Sunday,

 Peter

219th Week Update – Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

Miles School Gym

Now Only Volleyballs Bounce Off the Walls

A couple of years ago we moved the Miles Neighborhood monthly meeting into the Miles School Gym because it had no stairs and easy access. But this new venue created another problem. The acoustics were terrible. Someone sitting only 5 feet away was hard to hear. And if they were a bit shy and had the meeting-mumbles, he or she was impossible to understand.

Late last year John O’Dowd, the president of the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association and a prominent Tucson lawyer, mentioned at a school board candidate’s fund raiser here in the neighborhood that he had just gotten some sound proofing done for one of the grade schools in his neighborhood. My ears perked up.

Next to me listening to the same conversation was Dan McDonald a One Can A Week participant and a member of the TUSD budgeting committee. “Oh yeah,” Dan said, “that’s a special budget and we have some funds left that have to be spent before January.”

“What?” I said, somewhat surprised that suddenly the universe of School Box Gyms/Meeting Halls came together right where we were all standing. “I’ve got one of those echo boxes at the Miles School,” I volunteered. Who do I call?”

The next day John sent me the contact information for Marcus Jones, head of Engineering for TUSD. I then sent an email to Robin Weldon the principal of the Miles School and copied Rebecca Lipson and Tiffany Kassel the One Can A Week coordinators at the school.

A week went by and nothing. I then called Robin and we had a great conversation. She never really thought about the acoustics in the gym but if it could be fixed and paid for by someone, she was all for it.

That is when I called Marcus Jones, a very responsive and pleasant person to talk to. He said he would follow up with Robin. That was the last of my involvement.

Then in January as I was sitting in our monthly neighborhood meeting I suddenly became award that I could hear every word that was said no matter who was speaking and no matter how far away they were.

What was going on? I slowly looked around the room and then I saw them. Huge fabric frames about 10 feet above the floor and evenly spaced around the entire gym. I had to think. Those weren’t there before. The walls were so plain, now they have artwork-like things hanging everywhere. And I can hear!

The other day I was thinking about our up coming March meeting and got a pang of guilt. I forgot to thank John, Dan and Marcus. A thank you email was sent to John and Dan got a personal thank you a couple of Sunday’s ago. Marcus was a little bit harder to reach.

On Thursday evening my phone rang and it was Marcus Jones calling me back while he was waiting to go into a TUSD board meeting. He appreciated my thank you call because he seldom gets such things.

Marcus than told me how he made the decision to fix the acoustics. He stopped by the gym one day and a lot of kids were doing gym stuff at the top of their lungs. He then noticed several of the students wore hearing aids. “That must be very uncomfortable for those kids,” he thought. Not long after his visit, the sound proofing when up.

This whole saga unfolded because I wanted to listen to what folks were saying. That carried over to paying attention to what John was saying and paying attention to Dan’s response, too.

When an email didn’t work, I called on the phone to give a heads up to Robin who told me to proceed. Marcus was called next and he then visited the gym and listened to the kids.

Now that makes me think, how much more could we get done if we could just hear each other a little better?

Tiffany Kassel, a Desert Willow and three of her students

Just Being Neighborly

A week ago our current and former One Can A Week coordinators at the Miles School, Tiffany Kassel and Rebecca Lipson respectively, sent an email asking me to help facilitate two community service projects. Tiffany wanted to plant trees and Rebecca suggested collecting pet food for the local Hope Animal Shelter just up the street from Safeway.

At 9 am Thursday, Rebecca’s class of over 16 kids visited 9 neighbors and collected pet food donations and money for the animal shelter. Two by two they knocked on the doors of neighbors on Miles Street, 12th Street, 13th Street and Highland Avenue. I set these up Sunday so everyone was prepared to give the kids a great experience of going door-to-door to meet their neighbors.

At 11 am Tiffany, along with her class and a wheel barrow full of tools, showed up to dig a 2 foot x 18 inch hole in my entrance way. While they took turns digging, the other kids pulled weeds in the alley, thank you very much. By 2 pm they were back with the 9 foot Desert Willow tree and planted it.

The best part of the two community service projects is things could be done in a hurry and at low or no cost at all. After just a short walk from their class to the neighborhood the students were engaged with either neighbors or planting. It was fun and easy for everyone.

With more experiences like that, the students will have no trouble engaging their family, friends and neighbors in community service in their own neighborhoods. And we can say we helped Tiffany and Rebecca get their young students headed in the right direction.

A $1 bill donation left under the wiper

A Matter of Trust

Right after I turned the truck over I noticed some money under the passenger side wiper. I jumped out, leaving the door open and took a closer look. In a minute I was back with my camera and took this photo.

There was a story there but I didn’t think much about it until I got my weekly TED (Technology, Education and Design) email alerting me to another “trying to move mankind forward” video talk.

The guy, Dan Pallotta, was angry but he tried to disguise that emotion. A few years ago he created the three or four-day long charity event that involved getting lots of folks walking or running. They raised a lot of money but were expensive to operate. When donors found out 40% of the revenues were going to pay staff and things, he got shut down. His talk was to suggest humans have to change their thinking about charity. It takes money to make money and he wants folks to change their thinking.

It’s not thinking that needs to change, it’s human nature and that is never going to happen.

The person who put the $1 bill under the wiper wants his or her money to feed someone. Period. Not buy office chairs or paintings or coffee for the staff. I totally understand that. That’s what I want. That’s what everyone wants. And that’s why I love the Community Food Bank because only 3% of the revenues they raise go for operational costs. And 100% of the food we donate goes to feed parents and kids.

Dan’s right, though, you need money to run or expand an operation. However, deference must be paid to human nature. Donations must be treated as donations to help folks. If money is need to help sustain an organization than it must be called sponsorship.

Of course, many marketers hate to confuse the issue so they use the word donation to cover both bases. It’s more emotional and therefore, more motivating.

The word sponsorship causes a person pause. But smart, charity minded people, realize that if they become a sponsor, they can help even more people because they help run the organization and their 2 cents counts.

One Can A Week has donors and recently a few sponsors. The truck is a perfect example of a sponsor and just look at how much more food has been picked up because of the truck and delivered to the Community Food Bank.

Dan’s thinking has to change, not the wonderful folks who have no trouble stepping up to put a $1 bill under a wiper. When they know you and trust that every penny and every can goes to feed someone they are there for you. If you yourself need help to go forward, call that help a sponsorship, not a donation. Nobody gets fooled and nobody gets angry then.

Good at Gathering Food

When I stopped by the Tucson Planning and Development Office this week for a pick up, Heather Thrall told me about Daniel Barraza, their security guard. Seems he’s got a talent for collecting food from everywhere, his family, friends and party going neighbors.

Hope he keeps it up and has as much fun as I do every week helping out hungry families.

We collected a total of 178 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $35.50, a $25.00 check and $10.50 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter