Fighting Hunger. Feeding Hope.: December 2009

12.28.2009

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/

12.04.2009

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!