Out of the blue...A discussion on charity

On the WTM board there is a discussion of door to door soliciting. I must admit, that I hate the constant barrage of school kids selling gift wrap and candles. But I look through their catalogs if I have money and if they have something I want, I buy it. If I'm not interested or have no money to spend, I tell them so with no guilt at all. It's not that hard to say no.

But I was saddened by one poster's admonishment of people collecting food door to door. I know she probably didn't meant it that way and I'm sure she's not heartless. And I can agree with these posters on most door-to-door issues...except the food collections.

You see, I am the captain of my neighborhood's annual food drive. It is part of a larger food drive in 9 counties in 2 states. This past year 158 neighborhoods collected donations for our local food bank. This is an all volunteer program and 100% of all donations go straight to our local food bank.
We don't show up unannounced. Fliers are sent to every house (all 22,000 this year), the newspaper prints daily reminders, and most neighborhoods, including mine, have large signs for all residents to see. So no one can say that they didn't know we were coming.

While I know that every one has their pet charities that they feel are the most important to give to (and this one is mine), I just can't understand the indignation over giving up a single can of food. One can per house in a 150 house neighborhood, would fill 5 barrels. Just one can.

This past October, my 130 house neighborhood filled the 5 barrels I had and every box I could find. We collected 1350 pounds of food and $200. This was warmly welcomed by the food bank. So much so that I am looking forward to doing more next year. I was so proud of my volunteers (21 of them, mostly children), my neighbors, and even myself. I felt privileged to have had the honor of serving such a good and worthwhile organization. It was such an easy thing to do. Make some calls, put out some fliers, highlight maps and weigh all that food. So simple with such great rewards.

I guess it hurt to see that what I viewed and such a godsend, someone else "loathed."
I'm glad she doesn't live in my neighborhood. She'd "loathe" me every year because I happily do all I can to help our food bank. But she would know ahead of time to not answer the door.

I'm also glad that the Golden harvest Food bank exists. Last year they provided over 2 million meals. (MILLION!!!!!) Over a million of those meals went to children. They also provided food pantries to 165,000 families. This does not include to boxes of food delivered to homebound senior citizens (723 a month), supplemental food for at risk seniors ( 3427 bags of food each month), an afterschool food programs for underprivileged children (22,600 meals served) and a daily soup kitchen for our homeless. ( Over 72,000 meals served.) It also doesn't include the 700 boxes of food sent monthly to families in rural communities.

I can't change the world and I can't make miracles. But I can provide a meal to just one hungry person.