Volume VI, No. 1 | February ‍2025 ‍ ‍ |
| ‍THE WALK & KNOCKER | ‍A quarterly newsletter for the Walk & Knock Family |
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Our 39th drive was HUGE
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‍Congratulations to all on a fantastic drive! On and about Dec. 2 last year, more than 2,000 brave souls collected more than 270,000 pounds of food and toiletries plus $20,000 in cash donations. This is up about 80% from last year. |
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Bags, man
| We credit the big increase not only to your hard work and the generosity in Clark County, but to the plain paper bag. This year, for the first time, we mailed out more than 153,000 bags to homes throughout the county. We hadn’t thought we could afford it, but through a lot of good work by Past President Justin Wood and our provider, Matt Nelson of Active Media, we figured out the USPS’ regs and made it happen. Getting a bag in your mailbox made W&K hard to ignore.
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Bags, more
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‍Not everyone got a bag. Sorry. To stay within budget, we mailed them to homes, not businesses, apartments or P.O. boxes. Not a perfect system, and with more donations, we can try to expand our bag reach this year.
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Thanks, ilani
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‍Our friends at the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and ilani donated $50,000 worth of food – more than 21,000 pounds. We look forward to a continued partnership with these good folks. |
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Lunch-on
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‍Once again I was honored to speak at the Clark County Food Bank’s annual luncheon before some 500 “Hunger Heroes.” After plugging W&K and asking for volunteers, I was proud to present Leadership Development Coordinator Marlene Ashworth with a check for $20,000 in donations. That’s enough to provide 80,000 meals! |
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Buy the numbers
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‍Using the Food Bank’s metrics, which they get from national sources, 1.2 pounds of food equal 1 meal. So, our 270,000 pounds of donated food provides 225,000 meals. Our $20,000 in cash donations provides another 80,000 meals (one dollar equals four meals). Together, we collected enough food and money to provide 305,000 meals. | | ‍Which means? 305,000 meals are enough to feed one family of four three meals a day for 69 years. |
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| ‍Great, but... The Food Bank doesn’t feed just one family. Based on the sad fact that one in four in Clark County is “hunger insecure” – about 125,000 people – our collections provide about two and a half meals each. Sobering, heh? | | ‍More numbers - $1 buys 4.3 pounds of food
- 1.2 pounds of food equals one meal
- Donated food is valued at $1.82 per pound
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Barrel me over
| ‍Kay Hust, our amazing barrel coordinator, managed a crew of some dozen volunteers that set out and picked up more than 70 donation barrels. That’s a lot of unsung work! Donations to barrels this year totaled 66,427 pounds – about of quarter of all donations. Way to go Kay and Co.!
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Keep on truckin’ |
‍Trucks are the key ingredient to our successful drives. Without them, there simply wouldn’t be a drive. So big kudos to last year’s Bud Pasmore Volunteer Service Award winner and longtime Board member Bill Lundin and Independent Transfer for lining up 10 volunteer trucks this year.
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| Big Rig Thanks to: ABC Transfer & Delivery (2 trucks) Daimler Truck North America Green Willow Trucking Knight Transportation McCracken Motor Freight Nichols Trucking PepsiCo Beverages Ridgefield Pro Truck Line Woodland Truck Line |
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Walk & Web
| ‍Check out Walk & Knock’s still-new website – walkandknock.org Same address but a whole new look and feel thanks to our friends at Formations Design Group. We’ve made the volunteer map simpler and made signing up easier. Websites are always a work in progress. Let us know what you think.
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Don’t forget
| ‍Those of you Fred Meyer shoppers know their rewards program is money back in your pocket. It can be money in W&K’s pocket, too. Their Community Rewards Program allows you to designate your favorite non-profit – W&K we hope – to receive similar rebates without affecting your own rewards. It’s Fred’s way of giving to the community. Please sign up and designate Walk & Knock as your recipient. It’s free money just waiting for you to activate. Visit https://www.fredmeyer.com/i/community/community-rewards |
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Your 2024 Board of Directors | ‍Tom Knappenberger, President   Janet Elliott, VP, Volunteers Nell Perry, VP, Social Media Steve Staudinger, Treasurer Tammy Mackey, Secretary Justin Wood, Past President & Sponsorship Coordinator Joe Pauletto, Board Member Bill Lundin, Board Member Jeff Fish, Board Member Brian Switzer, Board Member Vacant, Board Member  Also featuring: Kay Hust, Barrel Coordinator Barbara Yasson, Clark County Amateur Radio Club Marlene Ashworth, CCFB Leadership Development Coordinator | | |
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Donate to Walk & Knock | All money collected goes directly to the Clark County Food Bank to help those in need.
Mail checks to:
PO Box 353, Vancouver WA 98666, payable to Interservice Walk & Knock
Donate online:
Pay with credit card via Paypal, even if you don't have a Paypal account
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I remain very proud of our county’s unique, home-grown, largest-in-the-nation effort to help our neighbors. I also remain committed to finding, with your help, the best path forward. Your thoughts always welcome. | | Next drive: Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 – Mark your new calendars now! |
| Drop me a line anytime – tomwalkandknock@gmail.com Thanks for all you do! | | Tom Kappenberger,
Walk & Knock President |
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