HELP WANTED !

For youths looking to complete service project hours, any of the following could be organized and carried out individually or by signing up volunteers to do the work with you. The food bank needs funds and food. For the former we suggest any typical fund raising event from car washes and bake sales to piggy bank penny collections.

Organize a food walk targeting one food item to be pledged per mile. One problem we have is collecting enough of one item to give to each client because it takes over 100 of an item to do this. We always need cereal, tuna or jelly.

Build a pyramid of one type of food, and challenge other classes or groups to beat them.(The Great Peanut Butter Pyramid Challenge?) The picture opportunities for this would be very effective. SuperBowl time ties in with a "souper bowl" collection project as done by the Ocean Acres Elementary School this past month. Get permission to hold a schoolwide competition with the winning classroom given a pizza party as the prize. (Foodbank to supply all pizzas) For sheer fun, sell lengths of masking tape to "nail" a favorite teacher to a wall. The Lacey H.S. cheerleaders run the popular Mr. Touchdown contest, campaigning for their chosen player by selling $1.00 votes. This fun project has raised nearly two thousand dollars for the food bank in the last two years.

In February, the volunteers provide candy kisses as a treat for the clients as they signed in. They also decorated with red valentine hearts. This created a little festivity for an otherwise drab day. This could become a class or troop project with the children adopting a month or holiday, decorating and providing an appropriately decorated cookie, cupcake, or greeting card.

If you are artistic, we need some artwork done - a banner, poster of welcome at the food bank, a mural to brighten our new space?

Perhaps your school would like to sponsor a poster contest and ask the library to display the entries from the children. This could be done at all grade levels. The focus of the posters should be on food,the big blue cans, & sharing and caring. We can give ribbons out to the winners in each grade category.The value in promoting public awareness of the plight of the hungry would be significant.

In addition to the above suggestions, advisors might want to look at the ideas offered to clubs and organizations.

We ask that public contact with recipients be limited. Most of them are elderly and proud, not accustomed to accepting charity and public scrutiny would mortify them. Also, physical space is very limited.

We can and will schedule "giftings" to the food bank & take pictures for distribution to the newspapers. We will also publish them on our website newsletter.

Feel free to call the chairman, Guy , at 693-8703 to discuss your plans.

TO MAKE THE XMAS DISTRIBUTION MORE FESTIVE FOR FOOD BANK FAMILIES, FOOD BANK VOLUNTEEERS SOLICITED BUSINESSES IN TOWN FOR DONATIONS OF FOOD CERTIFICATES SO THAT WE COULD HOLD A DRAWING. GIFTS RANGE FROM PIZZAS AND BAKERY GOODS TO DINNER FOR TWO. NON FOOD ORIENTATED BUSINESSES DONATED SHOP RITE FOOD CERTIFICATES.

HEARING ABOUT THIS, GIRL SCOUT TROOP # 476 SNEAKED IN AND PRESENTED US WITH TWO GIANT GIFT BASKETS FOR THE XMAS DRAWING, CHOCK FILLED WITH EDIBLE GOODIES OF ALL KIND AND TOPPED OFF BY SHOP RITE GIFT CERTIFICATES.

THEY CERTAINLY EARNED A GOOD DEEDS BADGE FOR THIS GIFT.