Friday, May 31, 2013

CenturyLink Will Be Holding Company Wide Food Drive June 3-7 and Matching Donations!

Next week, June 3 – 7, 2013, CenturyLink will be holding their company-wide 2013 Backpack Buddies Feed the Children Food Drive.

In an effort to support the rising issue of childhood hunger, CenturyLink will hold a company-wide food drive focused on supporting local food banks and backpack programs. Local CenturyLink employees have chosen North Kitsap Fishline Backpack Friends Program (Food for Thought) as their 2013 beneficiary for Kitsap County.


Each summer community food banks see a spike in requests due to the fact that kids are out of school and not receiving school lunches. Fishline is no exception!  
 
All donations contributed through this drive will be matched with a donation of up to $1 per pound (up to 1 million pounds total) by the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation.
 


How you can participate:

Take non-perishable food items to Fishline at 18916 NE 3rd Avenue, Poulsbo, (visit our website for hours) and be sure to tell them it is for the CenturyLink Food Drive, so your donation will be matched, or write a check to the North Kitsap FISHLINE Backpack Friends and send to CenturyLink, ATTN: Jan Kampbell, 8102 Skansie Avenue, Gig Harbor, WA 98332.
 

Items that would be great for this food drive are: crackers, granola bars, canned pasta and soups, Easy Mac, applesauce and other easy–to-prepare items. The goal is that a child can prepare the food without adult supervision, should that be necessary.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

NK Fishline's Grocery Delivery Service in Need of Volunteers!


Meet Kathy Lacey and Michael Aldrich, who have a very special volunteer job at NK Fishline.  Kathy and Michael deliver groceries from our front market to our home bound clients.  They organize, collect, and sort food items from our daily front market for delivery to pre-selected clients in need, once a week.  This is no easy task!

Our grocery delivery service screens clients who may be home bound temporarily or permanently due to illness or disability.  The program also considers clients who are seniors that don't drive. 

Kathy and Michael are up to ten deliveries per week!


We have several clients on a waiting list for this much needed service.  When we have more volunteers who can make deliveries, we will be able to do more of the good work that Kathy and Michael do.  Are you up to the task?  We are currently looking for volunteers who are willing to make house calls! 

Contact Jackie, our volunteer manager or fill out a volunteer application today!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Learn How to Become a Hunger Hero!


Why Hunger Heroes?

Hunger has no season. Fishline services are needed all year, so we want to encourage a steady influx of donations to meet those needs. By identifying and organizing this activity through the Hunger Heroes campaign, we hope to fill our calendar so that those in need in our community are cared for all year long. We ask that organizations, groups and individuals to “adopt” Fishline at least once per year. In this time, the kind hearts and creative spirit of your group can decide upon the best way to come together to contribute to Fishline’s mission. Whether it be raising funds, gathering food, sponsoring a Food for Thought child as a Backpack Friend or even volunteering, there are no limits to the ways that you can help Fishline in its mission to end hunger and homelessness in North Kitsap. 

How do you get started?

Once you and your group decide upon a week that works for you, we will include your commitment in our master calendar. If you have already planned an event or host one annually, let us know! With your permission, we will help promote your ideas, using signs, posters and online media announcements to help assure the success of your mission.
This manual will help you get started, hopefully sparking some ideas while describing some guidelines that will help you succeed.


But the greatest reward of all is knowing that you have contributed to a community free of want, comprised of caring and compassionate neighbors who take care of each other. We thank you for your ongoing support of this important mission as one of our Hunger Heroes.



JUMP START YOUR MISSION

Food Drives: Fishline distributes over 1200 cans of chili, 600-800 jars of peanut butter and 600-800 boxes of cereal each month. Nothing helps us more than regular food donations, especially in the months of Feb/Mar and Aug/Sept.

Pet Food Drive: Don’t forget our best friends. We always need dog and cat food and other pet supplies.

Spare Change Drive: For a period of time, set aside your spare change as a donation to Fishline. Ask your friends, neighbors and co-workers to do the same.

Party or Dance with Silent Auction: Come together to dance and enjoy your friends all in the name of a good cause. Thanks to the donated items that are sold in a silent auction, as well as a small ticket price, thousands of dollars can be raised.

Thrift Item Collections: Gather up new or gently-used clothing or house wares from your circle of friends or coworkers and bring them to Second Season Thrift Store. Proceeds from our thrift store go directly to helping our clients.

“Kids for Kids” Food Drive: Get the children involved and teach them valuable life lessons by encouraging drives by the children on be-half of other children. By collecting items needed in our Backpack program, such as juices, granola bars and fruit cups, kids get the reward of knowing they are helping kids in need.

Develop your own Hunger Hero mission!
 
We are amazed by the inventive, creative ways our community has developed to help Fishline. You and your team of heroes can unleash your innovative spirits and come up with an event or idea perfect for you. Here are some new twists that have worked for others:

Challenges: Have different departments/grades challenge each other to see who will raise the most meals or money. Keep a running tally posted in a visible area. Offer an award or reward to the winning group.


Game Night/Lunch: Host a game night or lunch party with your friends and co-workers. The host provides refreshment and maybe prizes. Then each guest will bring a donation as their entry free to the party.


“Eat in for Hunger”: Encourage employees or students to bring a brown bag lunch and donate the money they would have spent on lunch.


Commit to a regular volunteer shift: A local bank sends a member of its staff every Thursday morning to volunteer at Fishline and pays them as if they were working at the Bank. Employees love it and look forward to their turn.


Should you let Fishline know of the drive before it happens?
We are always glad to know of these events in advance, because we want to collaborate with you in assuring its success. We can:
 

Assist you in planning based on our experience over the years;
Provide printed materials for your use, including our logo


Advertise your event on our web site, social media and newsletter;

 

Provide barrels for your use and arrange pickup of food if you can’t deliver it.

Contact us at director@nkfishline.org to become a Hunger Hero today!! 



Thursday, May 16, 2013

Teamwork at Taco Time Supports Fishline!


If you happened to stop by our local Taco Time this past January, you may have purchased a coupon booklet from Shantell Leary (pictured above on the left).  The proceeds from the annual sales of the coupon booklets go directly to NK Fishline.  Shantell was the top seller of these fundraising coupon booklets -- making sure to ask every customer, reminding them the importance of supporting Fishline and the needy in our community!



 Manager Cathy Vasquez (pictured above on the right) coordinates this fundraiser every year as Taco Time's way of giving back to the community.  In the picture above, the dynamic duo is shown holding a check for almost $1000 that was raised during the month.  Thanks to Taco Time and your wonderful staff and management for this great gift!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

"How Can I Participate in Stamp Out Hunger?"



Did you receive a "Stamp Out" Hunger Grocery Bag in your mailbox today?  (No worries, you can use a regular grocery bag or anything you have on hand.)  

Here's how you can participate in Stamp Out Hunger on Saturday, May 11:

1) Collect and bag non-perishable food items. These include canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal, peanut butter and rice.  (Please don't include items that have expired or are in glass containers.)


2) Place by your mailbox for your letter carrier. 

3) Give yourself a pat on the back for doing your part to help STAMP OUT HUNGER!!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Fishline Celebrates May's Community Partner of the Month: Mike's Car Wash and Detail


The owners of Mike's Car Wash and Detail in Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island, represent the best of prosperous local business owners.  Mike Brooks and Jeanne Benton,  co-owners of Mike's, have long believed that they should further their community in their professional and personal lives.    In many ways, they have helped local causes - Fishline has been one of the grateful recipients of this extraordinary generosity.

Mike's donates thousands of dollars each year to assist Fishline in its work.   When we asked for sponsors to match donations during our fundraising drive last year,  Mike's Car Wash and Detail stepped forward and helped assure a successful campaign.  For them, giving is personal - it is about helping the people closest to you.  "We see how much Fishline provides for local people, people in our community", says Jeanne Benton, "Helping friends and neighbors is what it's all about for us."

Not content with assisting us with dollars alone, Jeanne has been an extraordinary and long-term volunteer for many years.  She has a regular shift, Wednesday evening (which can sometimes be the hardest to staff), she fills in when someone can't make it other days, she helps us do our accounting and during the holidays, she assists with our Toy Shop as a program manager.  Quietly, and with excellence, Jeanne can be relied upon to help Fishline in the ways we most need the help. 

Mike Brooks and Jeanne Benton are clearly community members who express their commitment through generous and needed service, as individuals and as business owners.    Because of their support of the Fishline mission, we have selected them as our Community Partner of the Month for May.  Jeanne said that it was an honor to be chosen as Fishline's Community Partner of the month, but clearly it's an honor for us to be partnered with such an extraordinary business.  She added, "We are blessed to live in such a caring community and are thankful we can support all the good works that Fishline provides."  Mike and Jeanne --  we are grateful that our community includes such special people! 

Please visit and "like" Mike's Car Wash and Detail on Facebook.  Their business address is 19774 7th Ave NE, Poulsbo and their phone number is (360) 697-1144.