Chris Rene with all the youth Hunger Fighters. #lovelife

With support from the SODEXO foundation, Youth Service America, and Disney Friends for Change, Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw’s Grind Out Hunger Youth Service Day was nothing short of spectacular.

Hunger Fighters Marissa Hushaw and Zane Keith with Award Winning film maker, Rocky Romano of The Go Big Project.

Film Maker, Rocky Romano and The Go Big Project had a full film crew at the event, documenting, interviewing, and more. The Go Big Project will be whipping up an incredible recap of the day. We had delicious catered food provided by Pono Hawaiian Grill (Mahalo Bruddah Timmy!). Families, friends, kids, celebrities, musicians, athletes and more all showed up to support the cause and the event. The energy throughout the day was inspiring. It was a day of kids helping kids fight hunger…

We had a full crew of helpers that worked from setup to breakdown. From merchandise tables to interacting with people and educating them about Grind Out Hunger. We couldn’t have done it without the help from our youth/student hunger fighters; Connor Luther (Connor Luther Photography), Caleb Luther, Kalil Mitchell, Felicia Mitchell, Ari Doggett, Dylan Morrish, Joycelynn Marie, Ashley Epis, Iggy LaMacchia…and all the other helpers that showed up!

Kalil, Felicia, and Caleb helping out at the Grind Out Hunger merch table.

People began to arrive for the event at about noon. Our skate ramps in the back officially opened and the party got started. Musician, Tess Dunn showed up to perform. She played an amazing set with her mighty sidekick Austin Corona (Blue Weekend), who usually plays guitar, but busted out the drum set for this one. Killer!  What can we say about Tess Dunn… What a rockstar…110% supportive of Grind Out Hunger and someone that we want to work with for a very long time. This was her first event performing for us and she told us that she had a BLAST. The energy, the community, and the cause are all something she wants to be a part of. We have a feeling this wont be the last time the lovely Tess Dunn performs for Grind Out Hunger… Tess recently released a new album, “Honesty Box“, head over to iTunes and take a listen. Check out her Facebook fan page here for more information about her music… www.facebook.com/tessdunnmusic 

Tess Dunn and Austin Corona. Killer performance.

Hunger Fighters, Zane Keith and Marissa Hushaw were in the building. Zane, promoting his skate campaign, shredded the back skate ramps for all of the groms and adults. He took the mic and explained to people “fighting hunger can be fun when incorporating skateboarding. All you have to do is spread the word and encourage people to help their community. It all starts with awareness.” Zane offers skate lessons to kids with a portion of the fee being donated to Grind Out Hunger.

Marissa, our snowboarder hunger fighter, got a large group of her school and snowboarding friends to show up to the event. She has these friends enlisted under her “Hunger Fighter Army” that she is rapidly creating in effort to eradicate childhood hunger. Dedicated to her sport and the cause, Marissa thanked everyone for showing up to help feed kids. She knows that no one should go hungry, and that she, along with her army, can be part of the solution to that problem.

Hunger Fighters Marissa Hushaw and Zane Keith with Grind Out hunger founder, Danny Keith.

Big wave surfer Nic Lamb dropped in for a surprise visit and quickly donned a new Grind Out Hunger Surf Hoodie. Representing the cause, Nic Lamb is looking to take his involvement to the next level by using his surfing talent to feed kids within his community. Nic Lamb is our next Hunger Fighter Athlete in surf.

Kimberly Moriarity of the Jay Moriarity Foundation with the next Hunger Fighter Athlete, Nic Lamb.

About an hour into the event Sam Diggedy and Domingo Rivera of 102.5 KDON The Morning Madhouse walked through the door. Alongside them none other than special guest, Royalty the King. Royalty, known for his hit song “Brown Eyed Girl” heard about the event and wanted to check it out to see if he could get involved with the cause….Sam Diggedy (Director of Music for Grind Out Hunger) has recruited Royalty to be our next musician Hunger Fighter, look for his page and wristbands soon.

Marissa Hushaw, Royalty the King, Sam Diggedy, and Zane Keith.

Shortly after, we were blessed with another big surprise as local music celebrity Chris Rene entered the building. Chris Rene, an X-Factor USA finalist, is a Santa Cruz local know for the recent release of his song “Young Homie” (Find in iTunes store here), the first single from the 29-year-old singer/songwriter’s forthcoming ‘major label’ debut album due in stores later in 2012 via Epic Records. Chris came to check out the Grind Out Hunger hype that has been going on and show his support for a local charity started by members of his community. He grabbed a Grind Out Hunger music hoodie put it on and stood in for a few photos with fans, fellow supporters and the youth hunger fighters. Big thanks to Chris Rene for coming out to support this event, he is doing good things, spreading positivity throughout the community with his music. Grind Out Hunger supports Chris Rene and all of the work that he is doing.

Chris Rene shaking Danny Keith's hand. Thanks for the support, Chris.

Chris Rene signed a large Love Life poster for Grind Out Hunger

Chris Rene supporting Grind Out Hunger

Our second musical performer was Jackie Roxx of Jackie Rocks Band and Dressed in Roses. She played an acoustic set alongside her sister who is also a member of the band Dressed in Roses. Jackie Rocks Band is described as melodic and upbeat, yet aggressive and heavy. A wide variety of comparisons have been made from Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, The Donnas, Poison, Soundgarden, to My Chemical Romance, AFI, and Cheap Trick. We were very fortunate to be able to have her at the event and perform. We talked with her afterwards about lining up some future shows for Grind Out Hunger. Find out more about her music on her band’s facebook page: www.facebook.com/Jackierocksband And take a listen to come of her music on iTunes here. 

Jackie Roxx and her sister Maddie performing.

By the end of the event we ended up raising 5,830 meals for kids in need. Made a bunch of smiles happen and spread the Disney cheer making Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop the happiest place on earth for the day.