Saturday, from 9 to noon, we sorted food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. It was a great experience mostly because they are so organized. We sorted food and bagged over 2000 bags of food in a little less than 3 hours with about 100 total people. They distribute about 17,000 bags a month so I think we made a pretty good dent it the workload. This SHFB serves almost 250,000 people, mostly seniors and low-income families with children, in both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties (“from Daly City to Gilroy, and from the ocean to the bay”).
The highlight of the day was when Rita, the volunteer manager said that they needed turkeys (about 11,000 and they have about 6,500) and immediately afterward Erik said that he would go get some. He, Aron and Liz went to Luckys and got about 22, and were told to come back for more in an hour. At the end of the day, Erik and Liz bought 60 turkeys (884.15 pounds for $433.14, if you haven’t noticed, Erik is good with details :-)).
Here is a challenge for MDSoF: I would like us to raise $500 to pay back Liz and Erik and to buy a few more turkeys by Friday, November 18 at 7 PM. Susan and I are pitching in $50, so we only have $450 to go. 100% goes to the people who need them, i.e. we buy turkeys and deliver them to SHFB. We will have a jar on the desk where you can donate or you can also drop some food off in the bins at the gym, either way let’s try to get everyone participating to help this great cause!
A huge thanks to Aron and Melissa, Dan and Liz H, Eileen G, Erik O, Jules S, Lorri L, Matt W, and Tracy S for attending. In addition, thanks to Jessica G for initiating and, most importantly, following up, to make this day happen with a minimum of effort from Susan and I. I am sure we will do this again so we hope to see you at the next event.
Hands down, this was a great way to spend Saturday morning and a great way to start off the weekend. For me, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in my own little world – what I like about serving others, is that I get the chance to do something that will really make a difference for someone else. In this case, someone who doesn’t have enough food to eat.
Saul said the best part of the day was hearing Rita say that the ‘Mad Dawgs have donated 60 turkeys.’ Saul and I are very proud to be Mad Dawgs!