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	Volume 2, No. 3 \| March 03, 2021
	The Walk & Knocker A quarterly newsletter for the Walk & Knock Family


	Safe & Sound First, I want to check that you are all safe and sound in this challenging time. Our personal well-being and that of our families is paramount. We have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others.

	Key Dates Zoom board meeting – September 14, 6:30pm Drive & Drop Day – Saturday, Dec 5

	BIG CHANGES Speaking of safety, the Board has spent the summer crafting a “PLAN B” to meet our 36-year mission of supporting the Clark County Food Bank and doing so SAFELY. Plan B is Drive & Drop After considering several options, we landed on a plan that allows us to safely collect food and money. It works like this. No bags No bag folding No bag distributing No boxing No door hanger Instead, we send a 6x9 four-color postcard to everyone in Clark County asking them to: Take their donations in their own bags or boxes to one of several yet to be identified collection sites where they will place them in large tote boxes And/or send a contribution to our PayPal web site or mail a check Our volunteers will arrange the donations in the totes and full totes will be fork-lifted into waiting semi trailers. There will be no interaction between the public and our volunteers, and we do plan to set out barrels this year as usual. Doing it right is key this year. While everything else seems to be cancelled or postponed, your Board would not hear of it. We are determined to continue our 36-year mission of supporting the Clark County Food Bank. What I wrote in the last Walk & Knocker is painful to read now: “We’re fortunate that our drive is not until December. Hopefully, things will have loosened up by then.” Argh. Our PLAN B committee considered three options: A normal drive with strict protocols – no knocking, masks and gloves and only family in vehicles. That was eventually rejected on advice of the County Health Dept. and our concerns that we could not ensure that 3,500 volunteers, mostly youth, would follow safety protocols. One slip-up could not only lead to an outbreak but also tarnish our good name. A financial solicitation. Send a postcard asking for donations only. No food. While the safest option, we want to continue our tradition of food gathering. DRIVE & DROP – A hybrid as described above. With a reduced number of sites, no public interaction and 10 or fewer volunteers per site, we believe we can continue our tradition with a SAFE DRIVE. We know this is a big change after 36 years. It will take planning, patience and communication. To those ends, we have two groups working to make it happen. Operations Headed by Ops Vice President Adam Hegewald, this group is working out the logistics: How many drop-off sites; where; over what timespan; layout of totes and trucks at the sites; arranging for supplies etc. Marketing Headed by yours truly. We will take on the task of letting Clark County know how PLAN B works. This will involve newspaper ads, heavy use of social media, blogs, TV, radio, flyers, working through organizations such as our sponsors, other businesses, churches, neighborhood assns., Green Baggers, etc. Suggestions welcome! We will keep you posted as details are firmed up. It’s all about communication with all these changes. Please don’t hesitate to contact me – tomwalkandknock@gmail.com or Adam at adamhegewald@gmail.com.

	OTHER NEWS Shout out Dr. Dene Grigar’s WSUV Digital Media class will support our drive this year with 2,300 hours of social media pizzazz. Ross Philbrook is the lead. Perfect timing! New secretary Welcome Kandie King who replaces Kay Hust as Board Secretary. Kandie’s already bringing a lot of energy and excitement to the job and wants to do more once she learns our mysterious ways. Conquering Condos Kay is now our condo and apartment coordinator as she takes on the long-wanted challenge of expanding our collections. Kay, who did a spectacular job as Secretary, suggested the change and recruited Kandie, a fellow condo-dweller, as Secretary. Good news from our partners! Bank of America, which gave us a $5,000 grant last year, is giving us the same amount this year as a donation and wants to be an active partner. McDonalds, which has sponsored our door hangers, will donate $5,000 this year even though we won’t have door hangers and has offered to advertise us at its sites. Our solid partners Riverview Community Bank and Cost Less Auto Parts are also on board as $5,000 title sponsors. So we’re off to a good start. Maps Board Member Tim Kraft has been hard at work making new maps for those who asked. He’s a whiz at it and his maps include new subdivisions, schools, churches and other community information. Thanks Tim! Sad Last spring we lost longtime Area Captain John Thomas. In his memory, the Board made a $500 donation to the Clark County Food Bank. Thanks to those who contributed. John, a Vancouver Lion, will be missed. Social media Help us out by following Walk N Knock on FaceBook and sharing Isabella’s postings with your friends. Same for Instagram and Twitter. The wider we spread our message, the more volunteers we get!

	Your Board Newly elected officers are: Tom Knappenberger, President Adam Hegewald, VP, Operations Janet Elliott, VP, Volunteers Isabella Guetter, VP, Social Media Kim Darrah, Treasurer Kandie King, Secretary Justin Wood, Past President & Sponsorship Coordinator Joe Pauletto, Board Member James Fitzgerald, Board Member Bill Lundin, Board Member Jeff Fish, Board Member Tim Kraft, Board Member

	All for now. Keep recruiting, keep talking us up and keep having fun! Tom Knappenberger, Walk & Knock President







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877-99-KNOCK (877-995-6625)

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