Hands4Hope collects over 2,700 pounds of food to help those in need

On Sunday, September 18, Hands4Hope held their annual Fall Food Blitz For The hungry to collect food and monetary donations from community members. The goal of this event was to support the continued efforts of local food banks and programs supporting the hungry, including the El Dorado County Food Bank and Twin Lakes Food Bank (Folsom).

The Food Blitz was a one-day drive, based at Safeway Placerville and Grocery Outlet Folsom, where Hands4Hope youth and adult volunteers handed out flyers on current community needs and collected donations from store patrons. The result was over 2,700 pounds of food and $1,183.99 in contributions that were later delivered to the benefiting food banks.

Yoko Kono, the Hands4Hope Outreach Coordinator, along with Hands4Hope youth volunteers, were touched by all of the community support the event received, but especially by one donor in particular.  “The best part of the event,” Kono explained, “was when a man who appeared homeless came up and donated $1, describing that he wanted to help.  He then quietly resumed what he had been doing before: sifting through the trash for cans.  It was such an amazing gesture to witness, and a great learning experience for the youth volunteers. The value of the $1 that the man gave was truly priceless!”

Hands4Hope would like to thank all of those who donated to the Food Blitz, as well as the participating grocery stores, Safeway Placerville and Grocery Outlet Folsom. The day would not have been a success without the overwhelming community support that Hands4Hope received.

Successful Food Blitz helps feed hungry families

Dear Jen & Hands4Hope,

The food drive last weekend was truly awesome for TLFB! We were out of or low on so many basic needs and the 2,125 pounds of food filled our shelves back up. We served 203 families this week & I don't know how we could have with out your generosity and care for others. You make a difference to many!

In Joy,

Tammy

Executive Director of the Twin Lakes Food Bank

Above is a thank you card we received from Tammy this week. We collected $7690 in cash and gift cards, as well as 3,078 pounds of food for the El Dorado County Food Bank and Twin Lakes Food Bank in Folsom at our Spring Food Blitz. 

More than one hundred Hands4Hope volunteers worked at various grocery stores from Folsom to Placerville, collecting gift cards, cash, and food donations to help feed the hungry. Volunteers handed out a wish list of items needed at local food banks, and generous shoppers added those items to their cart.

“Each time Hands4Hope puts on the Food Blitz, I am reminded what an amazingly generous community we have,” says Executive Director of Hands4Hope, Jennifer Bassett. “In a short six hours, on the day before Easter, 120 volunteers collected almost two tons of food and over $7,000. Thank you to the volunteers who gave of their time and to those in the community who generously supported this cause.”

Money and gift cards are split between the food banks, local agencies assisting to feed the hungry and Hands4Hope outreach programs. Hands4Hope would like to thank the many volunteers and generous donors who made the Food Blitz such a success.

Spring '12 Food Blitz was a Success!

On April 22nd, our volunteers (mostly youth) set out on a mission to educate our community about hunger and fill the shelves of two local food banks.

In just 8 hours, they collected:

$7854.74 in cash and gift cards 

4,786 pounds of food

All of the food will go to the El Dorado County Food Bank or Twin Lakes Food Bank (based on which county the food was collected in) and cash and gift cards will be divided between the food banks, Hands4Hope, and other Hands4Hope partner agencies.  

Wow!  We are so impressed.  Thank you to our volunteers & community members who helped support their cause.

We're making a difference.

Food Bank Blitz - Fall 2011

Our Fall Food Bank Blitz 2011 was extremely successful!

Thank you to all of our fabulous volunteers (almost 200 of them!) who came out and spent 2 hours of their weekend collecting food, gift cards, and cash to help feed the hungry in our community!  The generous people in our area helped us raise...

$8,480 in cash in gift cards

and

3,861 pounds of food

Volunteers,

Twin Lakes Food Bank would like to say an Extra Special "THANK YOU" to the HandsHope Youth.  This Food drive ROCKED!  We weighed in 2,661 pounds of awesome food.  As you can see in this picture (below), the actual "shelves" were getting bare and these baskets of food poured in with perfect timing!

This was another grateful week at the food bank with lots of smiles on the parent's faces and even some giggles were heard from the kids when they saw the extra special goodies and juices!!!

Hands4Hope made a difference in the lives of over 132 families this week and the weeks ahead.  Way to go! :)

In Joy,

Tammy

Director at Twin Lakes Food Bank

Thank you!!!

How YOU can make a difference!

Here is a message we received from a director at the Twin Lakes food bank.  If you are considering signing up to volunteer at the Food Bank Blitz on September 10th, here is where your hours of service pay off! 

Dear Hands4Hope volunteers,

"We are always grateful for the Hands4Hope food drives including gift cards and the monetary portion.

We log in our gift cards and here are the examples we were able to use from the last event:

1) Senior Citizen recovering from Cancer and going through Chemotherapy has a list of special food items her Doctor will allow her to eat. We are able to assist her monthly with a gift card allowing her to buy special Soy Milk, Wheat products, and special vitamins.

2) A mom with 2 teen boys-1 boy just had a brain tumor removed. He is recovering very nicely. He is at home and needs home schooling. We are able to help the mom buy extra food products for her son as he's growing and at home all the time. He no longer gets the hot lunch or breakfast at school. 

3) A homeless couple around 30 years old, Vet served in Iraq 5 years and fiance' were able to buy them ice for 3 weeks for their ice cooler and supply them with "special needs" items for camping out at Beals Point Campground. (miracle story, he has job in EDH working for Large Company and getting a house next month)

4)  We have a family and their daughter is a diabetic with special needs. We are able to provide them with grocery store cards for low/no sugar items.

5) Baby Food Baby Food Baby Food!!! We ran out at least 3 times and we were able to gather some gift cards and purchase bags of Baby Food products.

6) Gas Cards-Wal Mart/Sam's 2 emergency needs mom working and getting children to/from daycare just didn't have enough to stretch her gas for the week.

7) Mac N Cheese. We are seeing huge increases in families and have run out of Mac N Cheese 2 times. We were able to use the monetary funding for Mac N Cheese.

8) Purchased Soy milk for special Doctor's order

9) Purchased low salt food products for special diets and Dr.'s orders

10) 85 year old gentleman needed some special items and we were able to get his basic needs met.

11) Single Mom-3 kids hours have been cut and we were able to supplement her groceries for the kids.

12) Milk and eggs for the "PM" shift. We were completely wiped out of fresh milk and eggs for the Tuesday afternoon shift. We were able to purchase 30 dozen eggs and 30 gallons of milk for the families coming in to the food bank after work hours.

I just want to make sure you know how important Hands4Hope is to us as a food bank. We are very appreciative and look forward to working with you in the future."

Sincerely,

Tammy 

Director

(Twin Lakes Food Bank)

To sign up for the next Blitz, click here!

Food Bank Blitz

Fill It Up . . . FOOD BANK BLITZ!

Benefiting our local food banks!

WHEN: Saturday, September 10, 2011 10 a.m. – 6 p.m

WHERE: In front of participating grocery stores, from Orangevale to Placerville (Safeway, Nugget Market, Raley’s, Bel Air, and Wal Mart)

WHO: Youth and adult volunteers from Hands4Hope and the community will be manning tables at each store to collect donations of food, cash and gift cards. Shoppers will be given a wish list they can use to purchase and donate needed items.

WHY: In this economic downturn, the amount of people and families turning to local food banks is steadily increasing and donations are down.

VOLUNTEER:   Sign ups for the Blitz will begin shortly… stay tuned for details on signing up!!

In 2010, Hands4Hope organized two mass food drives (Blitzes) benefiting the Food Bank of El Dorado County and the Twin Lakes Food Bank. With the help of approximatele130 volunteers at ten stores each time, Hands4Hope volunteers collected a total of 9,700 pounds of food and $14,500 in cash/gift card donations.

Our September 10, 2011 our GOAL is: 200 volunteers, 5,000 pounds of food and $8,000 in cash/gift cards.

All food collected will go to local food banks. Cash and gift cards will be divided 50/50 between the food banks and Hands4Hope.

Make a difference for the hungry in our community!

For more information, please email us at volunteercoordinator@hands4hopeyouth.org