Bobby

As told by Nola of Feeding America during an interview in Colorado.....

When we first reached out to the church where Bobby’s pantry is located, the Pastor insisted we interview this quiet, unassuming father of two teenage daughters first. In his pastor’s words, “Bobby is the backbone of the work we do here.” From moving pallets of food from the Food Bank of the Rockies trucks to their temporary spot on the pantry’s shelves, to reorganizing the chairs in the recreation room of the makeshift church, Bobby is there at least one day
a week to give the pantry a hand. He does this wholeheartedly, in gratitude of the food he takes home in a large box each week. With the cost of living steadily increasing, this 62-year-old retiree spends many days debating the pros and cons of coming out of retirement. While his wife still works managing the cafeteria of a local public school, the money she makes combined with Bobby’s Social Security check is not enough to keep the family of four fed.

With all the worries he has in life, it’s amazing to observe how Bobby never raises his voice in nervous excitement, never really lets the concerned strain creep through his serene cadence. In fact, through a calm smile, he chuckles about the future of his 17-year-old daughter, a senior in high school who jumps back and forth between joining the ROTC or going to college. “It seems like she’s changing her mind all the time,” he says of her teenage waywardness. What she chooses may cost them financially, so this former automotive technician and business owner now picks up the occasional odd job painting apartments and tending to plumbing. “We just do the best we can, when they need something we just sacrifice and get it. We always put them first.”

Studio C & FBR!

FBR was fortunate enough to be chosen as a beneficiary of proceeds from 2009's sought after Studio C album!

People line up for this album year after year after year. Some choose to set up camp for 24 hours just to be first out of thousands to get their two CDs. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. On December 5th, lines formed at 9 local Ultimate Electronics locations as KBCO set up live remotes at many of those locations to update listeners on the status of CD sales. This year, they also talked about the fact that proceeds from this CD phenomenon benefit The Boulder County Aids Project and FBR! We sent staff to 5 locations at 6:30am to help cater to the crowds and promote KBCO and FBR. It was well worth battling the cold temps to experience this yearly tradition and of course to receive funds to feed thousands of people from this generous promotion!

THANK YOU to team KBCO for including us! It was a pleasure working with you in the fight against hunger!

The line at Park Meadows stretched further than the eye could see!

KBCO's Ginger and a fellow co-worker at the Park Meadows location.

Pound for Pound Challenge!

As a member of the Feeding America network, we’re working harder every day to assist individuals and their families right here in Colorado & Wyoming in these tough economic times. It’s a daily challenge and we’re always looking for new ways to meet it head on. That’s why we’re so excited to announce our involvement in the Feeding America Pound for Pound Challenge! Now in its second year, this proven fundraising program has partnered with NBC’s The Biggest Loser and General Mills to encourage Americans to "Lose Nationally, Feed Locally". And we need your support to make our involvement a success!

Participating is easy and your impact can be huge. Now through June 30, 2010, simply sign up and pledge your weight loss goals at pfpchallange.com. For every pound you pledge, General Mills and other partners will donate 14 cents to Feeding America with 9 cents coming directly to FBR– that’s enough to purchase one pound of food. In addition, you can quickly and easily gain encouragement for reaching your goal and pledges for Food Bank of the Rockies through the program’s Friends & Family Online Fundraising program. The more sign ups and pledges a food bank has from its area, the more funds it receives. So please help us by signing up now and encouraging others to sign up and/or pledge! Visit FBR’s Pound for Pound blog for more information on how you can get involved on a local level! http://www.poundforpoundcolorado.blogspot.com/

Charity Marathon a Smashing Success!

FBR Board Chair Doug Wilhelm of Co Bank with Dom & Jane

1 in 8 Coloradoans don’t know where their next meal will come from. FBR could not distribute millions of pounds of food each and every year without the dedication of donors, volunteers and advocates. Dom and Jane, the Mix 100 team of Jeremy and Tizzy and many others at Mix 100 are key to the yearly success of Food Bank of the Rockies and offer an excellent example of how a local media team can work together to make an enormous impact on the lives of our neighbors.

For the past 11 years, Dom and Jane have hit the airwaves for two consecutive days, leading up to Thanksgiving, rallying listeners to support FBR through their “Charity Marathon.” The 2009 Charity Marathon just wrapped up...keep reading for the grant total!

The morning show team stays on air from 6am-6pm for those two days, discussing hunger statistics, educating listeners about the programs FBR administers and interviewing folks who both utilize FBR’s services and those who donate funds, time and food to the cause. Callers make donations throughout both days via the phone bank or online through mix100.com. In addition, Dom and Jane receive support from other local television media personalities who join them on air to encourage listeners to donate to the cause.

Dom, Jane, Jeremy and Tizzy do a remarkable job of keeping their listeners interested and motivated to fight hunger throughout the length of the Charity Marathon. Throughout the past 10 years, the Dom and Jane Charity Marathon has raised more than $2.5 million dollars! That translates into more than 10 million meals for our neighbors in need. In its first year, 1999, $40,670 was raised. That number increased to an astounding $767,056 this year!

Without Charity Marathon, we would not have been able to provide over 56,000 meals per day to neighbors in need this past year. Their personal dedication to our organization means so much to us as a staff, to our partner agencies who depend on us to feed others and to those in need who struggle to put food on the table. THANK YOU to the Mix Morning team, to all those who donated to the cause and to all our loyal volunteers!

Whiting Petroleum sends a group down to present their annual donation

Panera Bread makes a check presentation

Rob of Toast Restaurants brings in a donation

Mayor Hickenlooper plays a little ditty for the listeners


Nancy of Natural Grocers stops by to talk about "Check Out Hunger"


Volunteers man the phone bank both days

King Soopers representatives stop in to chat with Dom and Jane on air

FBR agency partner "His Hands" talk about their ministry

Jim and Karen of Channel 4 pay a visit



Angie Stevens is one of many live performances gracing Charity Marathon this year

Finishing out the Charity Marathon at the Live Remote at King Soopers

Laurie

Laurie is one of the 15% of homeless individuals served through FBR's partner agencies. She calls the Cherry Creek bike path home and is hungry most days. Going without basic necessities is commonplace for her and so many of our Colorado neighbors.

Photographer: Tiffany Mulherin

Shop O Rama Media Frenzy

Last week, six teams from local media outlets 'shopped till they dropped' at Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage to kick off the "Check Out Hunger" campaign that raises funds for Food Bank of the Rockies' Children’s programs through the FBR Nutrition Network.

The teams had three minutes to race down the aisles of Vitamin Cottage on Colorado Blvd, trying to fill their carts with $174.82 worth of food – the surprise amount drawn moments before the race began.

We’re pleased to announce, after 7 years of participating, KOSI 101’s very own Murphy Huston and Cathy Taylor filled their cart with $160.58 worth of groceries, winning the race and taking home the coveted shopping cart trophy.

The stiffest competition came from Tom Green & Melissa Mollet of 2 The Deuce who "illegally" went over the total with $179.53. The remaining teams consisted of News 4’s Jim Benemann and Karen Leigh with $153.79 , Denver Magazine’s Jeff Kass & Tamara Boyd at $201.68 and 5280’s Jena Platt & Zach Wolfel totaling $132.08. Team FOX 31, consisting of Peggy Bunker and Michael Headrick, won the first ever “invisible” award for wardrobe creativity and spunk.

"Check Out Hunger" makes it easy to assist Food Bank of the Rockies in its effort to feed children in need. Shoppers simply pick up $1 or $5 coupons at the check-out aisles in Natural Grocers stores across northern Colorado from November 1st through December 31st. Natural Grocers has pledged to match each dollar donated at check-out stands through the end of the year. Last year, this campaign raised $55,000, equaling 220,000 meals for children in need!

Special thanks to all our media participants and to Natural Grocers and their customers for supporting Food Bank of the Rockies in our fight against childhood hunger.

One Republic, Biggest Loser and Food Bank

FBR staff and volunteers with One Republic.

What does the NBC hit show, Biggest Loser, have in common with chart topping band,One Republic? They joined forces last week to raise hunger awareness in our community by spending an afternoon at Food Bank of the Rockies. How did all this come to be? We'll try to explain.....

Feeding America (our parent company) called, asking if we would be willing to host the Biggest Loser camera crews and One Republic for some national exposure on Biggest Loser. Naturally, we said "YES, absolutely YES!" The crews arrived on Tuesday morning, set up shop and interviewed our CEO, Kevin. The band arrived shortly after and toured our facility. They asked a slew of great questions and took a very genuine interest in what we do and the people we serve. Following the tour, they found their places on our assembly line and packed food boxes with FBR staff and volunteers . The Biggest Loser crews took footage the entire afternoon and interviewed the band in our conference room to close out the day.

Thanks to Caitlin Connet for donating her photography skills for our day of excitement!

THE BAND

Ryan Tedder

Zach Filkins

Brent Kutzle

Eddie Fisher

Drew Brown

One Republic performed at Magness Arena that night and talked to the crowd about the need in our community and importance of giving back through FBR. The Biggest Loser episode featuring FBR will air on November 17th, so tune in! We can't say "THANK YOU" enough to Feeding America, One Republic and The Biggest Loser for including us in your schedules. We appreciate all your efforts so incredibly much!

Lives in Transition

These are portraits of lives in transition -the people associated with Denver Rescue Mission -homeless transients, program residents and volunteers. Denver Rescue Mission offers food and housing for the homeless as well as long term rehab and transitional housing programs. These men are working toward a better life.

Photographer: John Walthier

Lachey Day

You never know when random excitement will come our way here at FBR. Yesterday we received a visit from a huge yellow tour bus, carrying Nick Lachey (luhshay). Nick, co-founder of a new website, winnit.com, came to Denver as part of his 11 day "Everybody Wins Tour." He delivered a Nintendo Wii system to a winner from the website and stopped at food bank to pack a few boxes with kids from the Broncos Boys and Girls Club. Next stop was Las Vegas before heading home to LA.

For the past 3 years Nick has been a member of Feeding America's Entertainment Council in support of fighting hunger nationally. Thanks to Nick for stopping in and to the boys and girls who volunteered their time to come out and join in the fun. Visit winnit.com to check out what Nicks been up to.

Nick with the website winner and her family in Westminster.

FBR staff poses with Nick.

Packing boxes with kids from the Broncos Boys and Girls Club.

2009 Joe Sakic Celebrity Classic

Seeds of Tomorrow

Warren Village is a non-profit organization that assists formerly homeless, low-income, single parent families in achieving sustainable personal and economic self-sufficiency.
The folks at Warren Village view their theme “Seeds of Tomorrow” from two perspectives. By planting seeds, the children learn a lesson similar to that of a fisherman. “Teach them to fish, and they’ll eat for a lifetime.” They believe that teaching them to grow a garden will begin their journey towards a life of self-sufficiency. From another standpoint, they see these bright young children as “Seeds of tomorrow” with hope that they’ll grow up to be responsible human beings, fostering inspiration, leadership and love.

Photographer: Joan M. Hill

Charles

Charles Alcott of Denver sits on the bank of the Cherry Creek near Speer and Lincoln. To the right of the photo is the site where Charles recently risked his life by diving into the raging water to save the life of a drowning victim. In April, a man slipped on the bank of the river and fell in. A witness called 911. Downstream, from the ledge that was providing shelter from the snow, Charles dove into the icy water and dragged the victim ashore, where Denver Rescue crews were just arriving, and brought the victim to the hospital, and ultimately to safety.
Charles calls this area his home and has been living near the path for years. He is a Native American from the Crazy Horse People and is a mix between OgaLaLa Lakota and Dine. His family still lives on a reservation, but he calls the parks of Denver Home.

Photographer: Joe Morahan

Another Successful "Joe & Debbie Sakic Bringing Hope to the Table" Event

The Oil & Gas Industry is Stepping Up to Fight Hunger

There's an exciting new circle of support in FBR's world. This circle includes individuals representing 11 Oil and Gas companies in our service area. These men and women have joined forces in order to rally the Oil and Gas industry around our mission by educating them about the need in our community and soliciting volunteerism and funding support. Last week, a group of dedicated oil men and women met on the 16th street mall, set up camp and asked downtown passers-by for donations to support FBR.

Their booming voices and reminders that $1 = 4 meals through FBR brought in $1189! One afternoon provided 4,756 meals to our neighbors in need. Awesome! Thanks to the companies listed below for your ongoing support and time.

Forest Oil
Whiting Petroleum
Halliburton
St. Mary Land and Exploration
NFR Energy
Shell Lubricants
Questar
Anadarko
Antero Resources
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists
Society of Petroleum Engineers