February/March 2011
Many of us recently sat at breakfast for ACAP Child & Family Services and listened to those adorable children sing. (As always, I have a hard time just sitting – so I take notes!) One of the songs was: “Lean On Me” with the line: “we all need someone to lean on…” Come on, sing it with me! Okay – forget that part! But think about those words… we ALL need someone…and YOU, again, have been that “someone!”
Miss Auburn Scholarship Pageant uses their intermission time to host a drive for the food bank! Patrons are encouraged to vote for their favorite contestant - $1.00 per vote – with the contestant winning $250.00 and The People Choice Award – and the food bank receiving your donation! It’s always an honor to speak on behalf of the food bank – but I can’t sing and dance like former Director, Jack Laverty did – so I was very pleased that the pageant asked Jack to sing the song just before intermission!
I was invited to a meeting at the Puyallup Fair with ValPak of Washington. The reason given was: “a potential fundraiser if you are interested.” One, running a non-profit, can never turn down that opportunity! Five food bank directors in the room were told that our programs had been chosen for the Spring Fair “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” food drive and Food Network Star, Sandra Lee, (a Sumner native), would be the featured guest, doing all she can to make this a success!
Not only is the Saturday event a huge county wide food drive, but FRIDAY night, April 15, will be “Cocktails for a Cause”…where a limited number of you can purchase tickets to have Sandra Lee share with you her signature cocktails and enjoy incredible food from some local restaurants! PLEASE see the attachments and let me know if you are interested in tickets to the cocktail event on April 15! (We need reservations for this event.)
The All School Food Drive kicked off and the results were amazing! Auburn Riverside High School beat out long standing winners, Auburn Mountainview High School, Olympic Middle School (repeat winner) and Hazelwood Elementary (repeat winner) were the top schools in the challenge to see which school could bring in more food or money per capita. The REAL winners were the clients of the food bank who have already been recipients of that food – having gone straight to our counters once the weights and counts were all in! This year, 53,607 pounds and $13,270 was just slightly under last year’s totals of: 51,680 pounds and $16,873 – which is even more incredible when you think about our economy this year! Partnering businesses that helped support the food drive were a new thing this year and definitely added a new dimension and lots of fun!
An event that always brings home the need for safety – Women’s Self Defense Class – with donations by the participants coming to the food bank raised a record $1200 from the largest class, to date, of 34 women! The instructors hope is to teach women how to be aware and learn a few moves to help them get away from an attacker. These monies are placed is a designated account to be used for domestic violence victims. The money was put to very good use – just a month later. Here is the email I sent to the participants:
Last Thursday, I received a call from a 19 year old with an 8 month old daughter – recently placed at a hotel to get her out of a domestic violence situation that happened the night before.
As I answered the phone, she said: “I have one hour, can you help me?” What she had was one hour before having to leave the hotel. She wanted resources to help her with a few more nights so she could get help to get out of town.
Long story short – we took her to her apartment to remove her belongings – which fit into 2 duffel bags. She made a phone call home to California and then decided that was her best choice --- get home to her friends (who were her family). All she had here was the abuser and the neighbor man who lived next door and watched him hit her.
I took a chance on checking out the bus fees and found that only $145.00 was needed to get her and her baby on the next bus leaving that very night. I bought the ticket and connected back to the Cities DV Advocates and got her a ride into the bus station.
TODAY – answering the phone after hours – a woman is hysterical. She was raped earlier this week by the father of her boyfriend, been to the hospital and released…….all she had was her car and her most precious belongings in it. The car breaks down as she is driving but she manages to get it off the road. A phone call to a brother in Gig Harbor, arranges for a taxi and hotel for last night. She calls 211 and asks for emergency help – and gets our phone number. She apologizes for calling a food bank “you can’t help me – they gave me the wrong number.” I get her to calm down and ask what her needs are.
We take her to her car to get her belongings – the axle is broken – the car isn’t going anywhere. We return to her hotel – talking with her as we go. We give her all the resources we know. I go back into the lobby of the hotel with her to send her back to her room and turn to leave. The attendant signals for me to wait a minute – then proceeds to let me know – she has only been paid through tomorrow at 11:00 AM.
This is where YOU come in ---- if it weren’t for the monies that you donated through the Women’s Self Defense class – I would not have had the money to send a scared little girl and her baby, out of state to family…..or money to provide for this woman to get a couple more nights of security at a safe hotel where she can use a phone and a computer to get the help she is going to need in the future.
Money and resources are tight right now – more and more people need our help just for food. If I wouldn’t have had this money sitting in our DV Account – that you gave us – I couldn’t have helped these victims.
THANK YOU – thank you - I can’t tell you enough – what you have done to help yourself by taking this class – has further touched the lives of 3 others…..
(and today – March 31 – another need arose, and a mother and young son – were moved from there home – using these funds!)
*****
We had an incredible honor, in that Pick-Quick Restaurant gave us a check and 75 pounds of cheese!
King County Housing Authority replaced all the lighting throughout the building to energy efficient! They really make the lobby look nicer with new fixtures, as well as the offices are bright and the lighting is easier on the eyes!
One of our vans was involved in an accident – totalling it – but just like always happens here – something comes through to “fix” our needs! A van was traded in to Valley Pontiac – just the van we needed! Trading the settlement for the damaged van, we are on our way again, with an incredible “new” van!
The yearly Boy Scouts food drive brought some 3300 pounds of food in and all the help needed to get it sorted and put away!
As you can see – “we all need someone to lean on…” and this food bank – continually – leans on YOU and YOU continually say: “it’s okay, lean on us, we’ll carry your load, we’ll help you along…”
This month marks my 5 year anniversary in this job…a job I came to with much reluctance. I owe a debt of gratitude to Lorianne Claudon, Cy Van Selus, Mayor Pete Lewis, my family, and even former director, Jack Laverty – for not listening to me give them every reason in the book why someone else needed to take this job. While it was difficult to leave a job I had had for 30 years – and loved – I’ve never had a day of regret once I set foot through this door. The challenges are sometimes overwhelming, the need so great. You providing the resources and the people served are the reason I can continue! Thank you!
In your service,
Debbie Christian
Executive Director
The Auburn Food Bank....
....giving Hope to Face Tomorrow
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