Grind Out Hunger is really having an impact on the skateboarders and the youth. As I have already mentioned in previous posts, Grind Out Hunger is setup to challenge area elementary, middle and high schools to raise the most pounds (cash counts $1 = $9 worth of food) per student. 2006 champion Aptos High raised 20,000 pounds and equal to about 14lbs per student and won overall poundage, but it was Empire Academy that stepped it up and managed to wrangle 125 pound per student raising a little over 4600 pounds. Empire Academy got creative and did gift wrapping, bake sales and other out of the box ideas. So Second Harvest brought pizza’s and we went and spoke at Empire Academy to award them with their $600 gift certificate to Santa Cruz Skate Shop and answer any questions. The kids were very humble and stoked to have won the challenge…they also stated that in 2008 they are not only going to win the per pound challenge, but the overall total pounds raised. It looks like Aptos High has something to worry about as Empire Academy is looking to take a title Aptos High has held for three years. 2007 Grind Out Hunger raised 130,000 pounds of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank through the local elementary, middle and high schools. Don’t forget to join the Grind Out Hunger Facebook cause.
So for the last four years I have been promoting Grind Out Hunger, a campaign that targets the skateboarding youth to get involved with food drives and the Second Harvest Food Bank. The idea came to me four years ago when I was approached again to place a food donation barrel in my Santa Cruz Skate Shop…and I thought..”how can I get my customers to understand the need to help people that are not able to meet their needs”. That’s when Grind Out Hunger was born. I decided to not only give 30% discount to anyone that brought in 5 lbs of food, but I partnered up with the Second Harvest Food Bank to challenge the counties area high schools to collect the most food they could over the holiday period. The winner of the challenge would receive a $600 gift certificate to the Santa Cruz Skate Shop. That first year our program collected 40,000 pounds of food. Over the years we evolved the program, refined it and made it even better. This last year we extended our program to Jr High and Elementary school kids, and begun to actually go and speak at as many schools that would hear our vision of the Youth contributing and implementing our Grind Out Hunger campaign. I spoke to thousands of kids to motivate and dangle that carrot. The result was this years raising of 130,000 pounds of food!!!! I was moved to tears at the Second Harvest Annual Food Bank mixer when the totals were announced. I couldn’t believe we had managed to make this happen, our little idea had manifested into a living breathing entity. This year we also made a “Grind Out Hunger” skateboard that was sold for $100 donation all of which goes to the Second Harvest Food Bank (we sold quite a few of these, if you want to get one, dk at mediadescent dot com)I was awarded with the “Next Generation” award
for using alternative measures to help raise food and bring awareness to a group the Food Bank had been struggling to penetrate. We had dozens of schools participating and motivated…the goal for 2008-9 is to double that number to 250,000 pounds of food and to graduate the program to possibly franchise it out to other food banks to utilize. With the help of Andy and Christine at the Second Harvest Food Bank, “Grind Out Hunger” has legs and will become available in 2009-10 for use in other areas as we are going to be developing packets and DVD’s complete with instructions on how to acquire sponsors etc. It is my passion to make sure “Grind Out Hunger” goes nationwide and motivates the skaters of the USA to help out. Here is how it works
Grind Out Hunger campaign runs from October to December with the challenge to collect the most pounds of food per student (if you have 1400 kids and raise 14000 pounds of food that equals 10 pounds per student) by either collecting food or cash donations (every dollar equals 3 pounds of food).
High School’s win $600
Jr High School’s win $300
Elementary School’s win $300
Help us “Grind Out Hunger”
If you want to help out or want to sponsor our program please post a comment and we can begin email dialogue. No one in the USA should go hungry. Please visit our FaceBook cause for Grind Out Hunger and get involved.
