Jan
18

102.5 KDON Morning Madhouse – Hunger Fighters


Its been a crazy week at Grind Out Hunger Headquarters. We teamed up with a good friend of ours, Connor Luther, and shot some video of community members that are doing their part in the fight against hunger. Last Friday we woke up at 5am and cruised over to Salinas to join the 102.5 KDON Morning Madhouse in their studio. We were given the opportunity to film them talking about why they work so closely with Grind Out Hunger. These guys have shown up at food drives to hang out, they have given Grind Out Hunger air time and support everything that we do.

As you all can imagine, it was a crazy morning! Those guys are ridiculous.  45 minutes of filming…for a 30 second final clip! Lets just say, we got our fair share of outtakes …From Domingo forgetting his lines to Showbiz using his phone during recording, it was a blast.
Hey, whoever said fighting hunger can’t be fun!?

Big thanks to the Madhouse guys; Sam Diggedy, Showbiz, Domingo, and RickyDanny for supporting the cause.

The 102.5 KDON Morning Madhouse are Hunger Fighters….ARE YOU!?

Check out the video below and for more videos of Hunger Fighters in our community visit: TheFoodBank.Org/ThankYou



Jan
11

KZSC 88.1 does an interview with Grind Out Hunger Founder Danny Keith

KZSC 88.1

Grind Out Hunger founder, Danny Keith and Grind Out Hunger Program Coordinator, Shawn Hatjes were invited by Melissa Stone to join her on her morning radio show on KZSC. They spoke about the Grind Out Hunger program, how it began and where it is going. The radio show along with info about the Grind Out Hunger program can be found below.

KZSC 88.1

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With 1 in 4 children going food insecure in Santa Cruz County and over 55,000 people a month needing emergency food support, Grind Out Hunger in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County is doing everything it can to “educate and involve the community to end hunger and malnutrition”. Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County distributes over 700,000 pounds of food per month with over half being fresh fruit and produce through 200 member agencies and food for children distributions.

Grind Out Hunger was created through the vision of skateboarders helping kids overcome hunger. Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop founded Grind Out Hunger with the goal of inspiring kids to help kids; Danny Keith mentions “by going directly to the schools and talking with the kids, it has a huge impact.” Grind Out Hunger is an educational piece challenging local elementary, middle and high schools to raise food and money for hungry children in the community. Since the inception of Grind Out Hunger the youth of Santa Cruz County has collected over 1 million pounds of food for working poor families and children.

“The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they – at some distant point in the future – will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.”quote by Alvin Toffler

Shawn Hatjes, Danny Keith and Melissa Stone on KZSC 88.1 Conciliation Sunday

Jan
04

“If You Can’t Feed a Hundred People, Just Feed One.”

Hey Everyone! Shawn here…

I woke up this morning, not wanting to get out of bed, so comfortable under my blankets. After laying there for a bit it finally hit me that we have officially entered 2012. A New Year. My thoughts started to take me back several years ago when I was in middle school,  living on a diet of Top Ramen for about a month and living in a 1 room studio apartment with my Mom and Sister. I remember feeling like my life was never going to get better, like I was stuck in a dark place where light was unable to reach.
With the help of family and friends I was able to get out of that tough period in my life and turn things around, but it wasn’t without a great deal of self motivation and the courage to fight.

Now, years later, I am working in the non-profit world thinking of every possible way to help those that are currently in the situation that I used to be in. I know that I have the power to make a difference. I know i have the power to change the world, but I also know that I can’t do it alone.

Grind Out Hunger is first and foremost about empowering the youth, helping them realize that they CAN make a difference in the world around them. What kids and adults need to realize is that every act of kindness, no matter how small, is significant. Not only does it leave you feeling good, but it feeds hope. The hope that might be fading within the minds of those going through a tough time. This small bit of hope that each of us has the power to spread is all it takes to pick someone up and change their life.

I found this quote earlier today that is going to help me get my message across:

Not everyone can donate hundreds of dollars. Not everyone has the time to volunteer hours and hours at a non-profit. This does not mean that you can not make a significant impact on someones life. Dont feel like your quarter or your dollar donation is insignificant. We can’t walk around with the mind set that others are going to fix problems of hunger, malnutrition, homelessness for us. We cant rely on others to change the world. WE have to be the CHANGE and the only way that this can happen is if we fight this war together.

I’m forming an army of Hunger Fighters. I need YOUR help.

If you want to become a Hunger Fighter email me by clicking my name: SHAWN HATJES
OR fill out a volunteer inquiry at this link:  http://grindouthunger.org/volunteer/

If you have the ability to donate money to the cause please click the button below.


If you are a kid and don’t have the ability to donate online, please shoot me an email and we can talk about how you can get your donation to Grind Out Hunger.

Jan
03

I Don’t Wanna Hear It – New Years Bash Raises 1100 pounds!

It was a rockin’ New Years for Grind Out Hunger. Local 80′s punk rock cover band, I Don’t Wanna Hear It played a benefit show/New Years Bash at Margaritaville and it was crazzzy to say the least. We packed Margaritaville with fans and GOH supporters. We had a raffle where we gave out 2 skate decks, a hat, a bunch of band merch, and more! People donated cash as well as canned food throughout the night! It was a blast and a great way to bring in the new year. We look forward to teaming up with I Don’t Wanna Hear It again in the future as well as other local bands interested in rocking out for a cause!

The show raised 1100 pounds of food for Grind Out Hunger. Not bad for a party!

Big thanks to the band for putting on an awesome show as well as donating merch money to GOH, and to Margaritaville for hosting the rockin’ party!

Enjoy a few photos from the event and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I Don’t Wanna Hear It band members include Jeff Frady, Ed Gregor, Nick Davern, Guerin Myall, and Jimbo Phillips.
Photos by: Shawn Hatjes Photography 

You can see a full gallery of photos on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150454117862596.354511.101722792595&type=3 

Dec
31

Local Bands Being Recognized for Supporting Grind Out Hunger


Looks like people are noticing the local talent we have out in our community! We just read this letter to the editior in the Santa Cruz Sentinel about two local bands that support Grind Out Hunger; Almost Chaos AND Blue Weekend. Thought we would share this with you all and give you a little bit more info about our involvement with middle/high school bands and how YOU can get involved.

Letter to the Editor, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 12/31/11

Ever since the Fury 66 Reunion show to benefit Grind Out Hunger, GOH has been getting several requests by local bands to play benefit concerts of their own. Many of these are local middle school and high school bands, with the occasional bigger bands such as I Don’t Wanna Hear It. Grind Out Hunger is first and foremost about empowering the youth. Any band that approaches us wanting to use their music to make a difference in their community will be immediately welcomed.

Almost Chaos, a big supporter of Grind Out Hunger, which was not stated in letter to the editor above, is only one of the many bands playing music to support the cause. The members of the band are quickly moving forward in their musical careers and are supporting our cause every step of the way. These kids have immense talent and if you havent had a chance to listen to them yet, be sure to.

We recently had a benefit show at Aptos Christian Fellowship Church where several high school bands played including; Rat Trap, Bell Thieves, Funk Faction, and Otis and the Fascist Bagels. Blue Weekend was scheduled to headline this event, but unfortunately had to back out at the last minute due to a sick band member. We approached them later after the show and asked if they would be willing to play a private show at the Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop to benefit Grind Out Hunger. Amped on the idea, they said yes. We are in discussion with them about a date and time. Stay tuned for more info. You aren’t going to want to miss this show.

If you are in a band and want to arrange/chat about setting up a benefit show please send an email to: SHAWN HATJES

Happy New Years Everyone!
And ROCK ON!

Almost Chaos donating cans to Grind Out Hunger

Blue Weekend

Dec
28

I Don’t Wanna Hear It – New Year’s Margaritaville Benefit Show

Our last big benefit show happened at The Catalyst when SC’s punk rock band Fury 66 reunited for a night to rock Santa Cruz County. Now, we have a group of our friends that have decided to form an 80′s punk rock cover band to keep spreading that punk rock feel all over the county. A couple of the band members you all might recognize including, Jeff Frady, from Fury 66 AND the artist and one of our major sponsors Jimbo Phillips. Yup, this is a show you aren’t going to want to miss. Come ring in the new year with this crew as well as the Grind Out Hunger team.

Start the new year off by rocking out and giving back to your community.
Need we say more?

Here are the details:

The Band Features 5 Members: 

Guerin Myall -VOCALS
(Stench and Cupcheck)

Jeff Frady-GUITAR
(Fury 66)

Nick Davern-BASS
(Skulduggery and Pariah Faction)

Ed Gregor-GUITAR
(No Use For A Name, Hedgehog)

Jimbo Phillips-DRUMS
(The Undecided, do you really have to ask who he is??)

_______________________________________________________

Margaritaville Presents:

80′s Punk Rock Cover Band
I DONT WANNA HEAR IT!

NEW YEARS EVE
9pm-1am

21+

A BENEFIT FOR: GRIND OUT HUNGER

This event is a New Years Eve bash benefiting local charity, Grind Out Hunger. They will have a donation barrel for non-perishable food items, money donations, and merchandise for sale with 100% of the sales benefiting the cause.

THERE WILL BE A RAFFLE
$1 Raffle Tickets
Prizes from Grind Out Hunger and IDWHI

RSVP to Facebook Event Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/292639160777222/ 

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