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Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, 19 year old Zane Keith has been skateboarding since he could walk. Co-owner of Live Oak Skateboards, Zane knows the skating industry inside and out. From street to vert, building a skateboard to skate repairs…

Zane approached the Grind Out Hunger team a while back saying. “I want to get involved in this fight against hunger. I can skate, thats what the program is about, right?”. We listened to his request and tasked him with coming up with a fundraising campaign. A couple months later Zane came back to us and dropped a wad of cash on our desk.
“Here is the beginning of my campaign…and there is more where that came from.”

Where did he get the cash, you ask?

Zane Keith is taking his knowledge of skateboarding and sharing it with the youth. He is offering private skate lessons at an indoor ramp facility inside Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.  A portion of the money raised through these skate lessons go directly to Zane’s Grind Out Hunger campaign. More information on how to sign yourself up or your kid up for lessons will be available soon.

For now, check out his Hunger Fighter page and if you can, donate to his campaign to help him fight hunger in his home town.

You can visit his Hunger Fighter page at: http://www.grindouthunger.org/zanekeith 

“Why am I motivated to help Grind Out Hunger?  Knowing that I can take a sport that I am good at and apply it to helping my community makes me feel good! 1:4 kids is going hungry in SC, I’m not ok with that. I care about my community and that is what my campaign is all about, helping to create a healthy and positive living place.”

~ ZANE KEITH

Zane is starting out with a $1,000 goal.
You can help him reach this goal by clicking on the button below to donate today.

Welcome to the Grind Out Hunger family, Zane!
We are excited to be teaming up with you to fight this war against hunger!

Photo: Mike Murray

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Its amazing what the youth can do when empowered. What started out 7 years ago as a way to teach kids altruism and compassion for their community has turned into a full blown spectacle. The goal for 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign in Santa Cruz County was 250,000 pounds almost double 2009′s raise of 130,000 pounds.

This year was a bit different, Grind Out Hunger added a new partner with Skateworks Skateshop

Bill Strubing of Skateworks Skateshop

to combine forces with Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, Jimbo Phillips Graphix and 102.5 KDON.  2010 for Grind Out Hunger was by far the craziest it has ever been, with the need to feed kids up more than ever and the students buckling down and getting serious about rising to the challenge.

St Francis came and helped at Santa Cruz County Fair

It all started with the Santa Cruz County Fair and education days collecting over 3000 pounds, great start to a busy year.

Then the speaking tour began, St Francis High, Aptos Jr. High, Cabrillo College, Gateway Elementary, Happy Valley Elementary, Lakeview Middle School, Santa Cruz High, Salesian Elementary and the list goes on.

3D Constructions Dominic Cusimano is a madman!

3D Constructions Dominic Cusimano and Jesse Gullings Painting spent over a month building ramps at Second Harvest Food Bank  so that Grind Out Hunger could do the 1st Annual Skateathon sponsored by Rotary Interact at Twin Lakes Church raking in over 13,000 pounds of food and giving away a 1999 Red Mustang (WHAT!).

1st Annual Skateathon at Twin Lakes Church raised 13,000 pounds of food

That led to Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz stepping up and throwing down the 1st annual SkateJam presented by Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz and Rotary Interact (see the theme here?) both of these events were peppered by rain but it did not deter the kids from coming out and skating while donating food to a great cause.

Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz and The Skate Jam

It seemed that the kids were on a roll, school after school was smashing their previous years raise and setting new standards, gauntlets were being thrown down and some claims of who was beating who at what were circulating around feverishly as no one wanted to be left behind on this one.  With $1800 in gift certificates up for grabs from Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, here are your 2010 Grind Out Hunger Champions!

The 2010 Grind Out Hunger Heavy Weight Champion was Monterey Coast Preparatory, Sinda Merritt and her students really set the bar raising over 21,000 pounds of food!! This amazing group of angels were relentless in their pursuit of raising food for kids putting the goal well ahead of themselves. Over the last three years with Grind Out Hunger, Sinda and crew have pulled in just under 40,000 pounds of food…not bad for 25 kids (do the math thats 1600 pounds per student!) Monterey Coast Prep takes home $600 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

These kids got creative capping off their drive with "FREE" gift wrapping that raised thousands of dollars!

St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School, John Marheineke and the students invited Grind Out Hunger to come speak at their campus. Just over 200 kids attend the school and had barely participated in the food drive in years past. This was the 1st stop for 2010 Grind Out Hunger, you could feel the energy from the kids and they were pumped up. When asked what their goal was,  the students blurted out “8000 POUNDS”…later when speaking with John he was obviously worried, “How in the world are we going to do that??”.  In reality it didn’t matter if they did, the fact was they had a goal, were focused and no matter what they would give it 100%.  Grind Out Hunger is proud to say that the students and staff  not only hit the 8000 pounds they passed it. Congrats on the 10,001 pounds!!!!! St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School skates away with $600 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

St Francis Central Coast Catholic High School sold 10 Grind Out Hunger skate decks totaling 3000 pounds!

Aptos Jr. High was a veteran of 2009 Grind Out Hunger and they lost no time is establishing that 2010 was going to be a record breaker.  Brian Saxton and his students proceeded to make challenges, prizes and selling hot cocoa…whatever it took to hit 10,000 pounds. Well…Aptos Jr. High not only did that they went to a whopping 11,662 pounds. Aptos Jr. High pulls a repeat and wheels away $300 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Aptos Jr. High presents a check to Grind Out Hunger for $3500 or 10,500 pounds!

Gateway Elementary is also no stranger to the Grind Out Hunger challenge. The staff and students here always get creative and focus on the end goal of feeding kids. The presentation at Gateway is always fun as the kids are so inquisitive about how the food gets distributed, what kind of food can they bring in and how much more the dollar actually allows the purchase of healthy nutritious food. Thank goodness this is our future at work, its apparent that if we continue to provide altruistic ways for the youth of today to participate, society will become a better place. Gateway Elementary dropped 6,545 pounds into the barrels and captured 1st place for Elementary schools. Gateway Elementary slashes its way to $300 in gift certificates to Skateworks Skateshop and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Gateway students are always excited when Grind Out Hunger starts up!

At the end of it all, the youth in all their amazingness (is that a word?) managed to roll right by the 250,000 pound number, sliding in at a cool 278,616 pounds setting a new record and firmly placing the youth of Santa Cruz County as the 3rd largest contributor to the Second Harvest Holiday Food Drive 2.1 million pound goal. It is impressive the direction that Grind Out Hunger is going and there is some amazing news on the horizon for this kid powered charity so stay tuned! Below is a list of the winners of the 2010 Grind Out Hunger Challenge with a full list of schools…is your school involved? If not email HERE and get involved.

Here is a total showing of all 2010 Grind Out Hunger schools, the 1st line is a total of all events like skate jams, online cash donations and anonymous donors. This year was a 1st for the colleges UCSC and Cabrillo College to participate in Grind Out Hunger. Both of these campuses are like small cities with over 40,000 students and staff between them its obvious that the partnership with higher education has some incredible possibilities!

There are also some honorable mentions of schools that made this their 1st year with Grind Out Hunger. Watch out for these schools next year!

Enjoy the 2010 Grind Out Hunger Scrapbook!

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Grind Out Hunger 2010 goal of 250,000 pounds

7 years ago when Grind Out Hunger was founded, I would have never imagined that it could become such a powerful tool for the youth. As I sit here and write on this day of excitement and family gatherings aka Christmas Eve, I can only think of all of the families that will have a holiday meal because the youth of Santa Cruz County stepped up and made a dent in the overall need of Second Harvest Food Banks 2.1 Million pound goal. I started this year at St. Francis High School, John Marheineke invited me out and the students claimed “8000 pounds is our goal”…he pulled me aside and asked me if I was crazy they had never raised more than a couple hundred pounds…I said to him “watch what these kids will do”…bookend that with Monterey Coast Prep’s Sinda Merrit excerpt from Facebook chats and phone calls “Hi its Sinda, this year Monterey Coast Prep is planning to double 2009′s raise of 8000 pounds, just thought I would give you a heads up”…

Then the year was off to a whirl wind Santa Cruz County Fair on September 15th was the official kickoff for the window on Grind Out Hunger overall thousands of kids came through and dropped food into the Grind Out Hunger Halfpipe…I must mention that we had some serious support from the Strubing Family/Skateworks Skate Shop, 102.5 KDON and The Morning Madhouse, Jimbo Phillips Graphix, Second Harvest Food Bank, FRINGE Gear, TAC Apparel, Shawn Hatjes/Santa Cruz Waves, 3D Construction , Jesse Gullings Painting, SKATEBOARDS.com, Rotary Interact and Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop.

Once the year kicked off I then began my rounds to schools, Monterey Bay Academy, St Francis High, Ceiba College Prep, Ocean Alternative School, Spring Hill Elementary, Aptos Jr High, Mission Hill Middle School, Santa Cruz High, Soquel High, Monte Vista Christian, Lakeview Middle School, Salesian Elementary, Gateway Elementary, Cabrillo College and there are probably more I am missing that I visited. This is not including all of the schools that participated in the Grind Out Hunger contest!! Rio Del Mar Elementary, Monterey Coast Prep, Aptos High School, Harbor High, Watsonville High, UCSC and lots more. All along the way watching as kids eyes lit up realizing their goal…

There were special events this year, Tarp Surfing came on board and raised 500 pounds, Rapid Fire donated their concert proceeds to Grind Out Hunger, 3D Construction’s Dominc Cusimano and Jesse Gullings Painting along with wood donated from Big Creek and Pro Build built a mobile skatepark allowing Grind Out Hunger to have skate events with Twin Lakes Church and Rotary Interact had the 1st Annual Skateathon as did Whole Foods Santa Cruz and Rotary Interact Skate Jam. Whole Foods Capitola held a Taste of Elegance and a few anonymous donors supported Grind Out Hunger and the youth. Home Space/Work Space did a 3 day extravaganza raising over $1000.  Shawn Hatjes Photography made photo post cards and donated profits to Grind Out Hunger. Appetizer Media donated proceeds from their iPhone Game and tons of skateboards were sold this year by the schools. It seemed as if everyone in Santa Cruz County was aware of Grind Out Hunger and wanted to help.

People Magazine recognized Grind Out Hunger as an All Star Among Us which meant we got to stand at home plate during a SF Giants game and providing the chance to run some food drives in Atlanta and New Jersey which ultimately, the goal is to take Grind Out Hunger nationwide.

This was another year of press with Grind Out Hunger getting coverage in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Register Pajaronian, Aptos Times, Mid County Post, GoodTimes, Santa Cruz Weekly, The Huffington Post, People Magazine, KSBW 8, KION 46, Community TV and Santa Cruz Waves.

2010 was one of success, numerous schools went above the 10,000 pound mark while one school went above the 20,000 pound mark all skating towards the 250,000 pound goal for this year.

A full recap with poundage from each school is coming as Second Harvest is still tallying the results from all that was collected in the 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign and I have a feeling…call it a hunch…ok I have inside info…because the youth of Santa Cruz County decided they wanted to feed kids this year I am confident we will meet that goal of 250,00 pounds.

As I close, please take a moment and recognize the youth of Santa Cruz County, their supporters, their schools and their hearts which drove them to collect as much food and cash as humanly possible to feed kids.

I also want to recognize the staff that made all of this possible at Second Harvest Food Bank, Willy Elliot-McCrea whom without I could have never gotten off the ground, Sam Neider my trusty Grind Out Hunger assistant, Bly Morales for helping me make sure I knew where I was supposed to be and snapping pics, Lisa Allyn for keeping the spreadsheet straight, Vicki Lowell for blogging it up, Clyde Kimura for handling all of those barrel pick ups at schools around the county, All of the Second Harvest Drivers that had to go into the schools and get those full barrels, Brooke Johnson for tolerating the madness of delivering ramps all over the place and blessing the use of trucks, Victor Kimura for organizing insurance coverage for the skate events, Ernesto Nieves for organizing the storage and delivery of the skate ramps, Carlos Juarez, Doug Brooks, Mark Rodriguez and Frank Hernandez for hauling and deploying ramps even in the pouring rain so kids could skate, Megan Riggs for coming out and manning the tables at the skate events and finally accounting for counting all those dollars and cents the kids donated to make our goal of 250,000 pounds. Meet the Second Harvest Staff Here I genuinely thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Enjoy the pics from this years 2010 Grind Out Hunger campaign….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stay tuned for a full update in 2011 as we announce the total pounds raised, the standouts that made it happen and the plans for 2011 Grind Out Hunger…

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Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz is a HUGE supporter of Grind Out Hunger and they are stepping up on December 5th from 10am to 4pm in their parking lot at 911 Soquel Dr. The Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz/Rotary Interact/Grind Out Hunger SkateJam on December 5th will be huge with over 15 obstacles to skate all you have to do is bring $10 or 10 pounds of food to skate all day and get a chance to win some great prizes (maybe another car???). Come down and help us feed kids this holiday season and enjoy some skating. Facebook Event Check out and RSVP to the event HERE. Download the flyer to post up here… Whole Foods Market/Rotary Interact/Grind Out Hunger SkateJam (199)

Whole Foods Market Santa Cruz/Rotary Interact/Grind Out Hunger SkateJam

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October 22nd Ceiba College Prep School is primed and ready,

Ceiba College Preparatory

Ceiba College Preparatory School

spoke to a couple hundred students about feeding kids, they play a mean game of basketball.

October 26th Ocean Alternative School about 25 kids ready to help feed children this holiday season…these kids had great ideas on how to raise food!

Ocean Alternative School

October 29th Santa Cruz High School and the Cardinals,

Santa Cruz High School Mascot and I

Santa High School sets huge goal of 5000 to 10,000 pounds

they are hungry for the High School title and are claiming 10,000 pounds from what I walked away with!

November 2nd Monte Vista ChristianMiddle School this school is settled into a nice valley with a well thought out campus, Rod Stanton is leading the charge…

Monte Vista Christian Middle School

Monte Vista Christian Middle School is going big this year!!!

and from I am told the only school in the nation to use iPad technology!

November 11th Lakeview Middle School, 6th 7th and 8th graders always amaze me, raw and full of energy just waiting to be given direction,

Lakeview Middle School

Lakeview Middle School and 600 kids...

Lakeview Middle School Leadership Journalists

I have no doubt that Lakeview Middle School will be a contender this Grind Out Hunger season.

If you want to support any of these schools click the donate now button on the upper right, $1 = 3 pounds in this contest and you can also buy a Grind Out Hunger Skateboard for $100 or 300 pounds!!! Lets hit this 250,000 pound goal and get kids feeding kids!!!

We will have update on total pounds raised by which schools next week, stay tuned!!!

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Rain…thats a bad word to skateboarders.

1st Annual Skateathon on a rain delay...

Especially when its skateboarders looking to help feed kids. 4am rolls around and I walk outside…ground is wet, but not raining.  5:30 am Dominic Cusimano and I head over to Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop where we have been stashing the 1999 Mustang 5.0, we say a little prayer that it starts and ask for a good day. I jump in the Mustang and start her up, the car rumbles to life…and so does the rain.

1999 Mustang bring your 10 pounds of food or $10

From 6am to 10:10am it was a torrential downpour with moments of clear sky…on those moments of blue sky, 6 of us bust out the ramp layout and quickly re-tarp the ramps so they don’t get soggy….

Nothing will stop the Skateathon!

10am and kids are rolling up with food to donate so they can skate. By 10:10 our group decided we were going for it and for the rest of the day we had sunshine and partly cloudy skies for the kids to skate.

Zane busts a move...

Watsonville Fire Department made an appearance

Watsonville Fire Department

as did Jimbo Phillips

Grind Out Hunger artist extraordinare Jimbo Phillips and DK

and SC Family Nate Linford.

SC Family Nate Linford

About 50 to 60 kids came through and donated food and cash for a chance to win the 1999 Mustang and skate all day on newly built ramps.  at 1pm DJ Tech Minds made his appearance and began to spin the beats for the skaters as the kids kept skating till the end at 4pm.

DJ Tech Minds

All in all the day was a HUGE success with 13,450 pounds of food and cash equivalent raised to feed kids in Santa Cruz County.

Once it became time to give away the 1999 Mustang we all joked about how a 13 year old kid would probably win…well guess what one DID!!! Gideon Walsh brought 30 pounds of food equivalent and walked away with the car!!

WINNER!!! 1999 Mustang 5.0

Gideon Walsh drives away 1999 Mustang 5.0

Special Thanks to the following people/businesses that made all of this happen: Rotary Interact, Georgeann Eiskamp, Dominic Cusimano, 3D Construction, Jesse Gullings Painting, Roy Gullings, Billy MacLaughlin, Second Harvest Food Bank Warehouse crew, Arenas Towing, Big Creek Lumber, Pro Build Lumber, State Steel, Santa Cruz/Aptos Towing, Isaiah’s Auto Detailing, Jimbo Phillips Graphix, KDON 102.5, TAC Apparel, Fringe Gear, Skateworks Skateshop, Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, Shawn Hatjes, SantaCruzWaves.com, Twin Lakes Church family, Steve Craig and I am sure there are many more people that made this day magical.

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Thats right this event is going to be huge, kids you need to bring food/money to skate $10 or 10 pounds of food gets you in for a 2 hour session on our newly built ramps and obstacles! All wood was donated by Pro Build and Big Creek Lumber (110 sheets of plywood, 300 2×4′s etc) orchestrated all by 3D Construction.  The event will happen on October 30th at Twin Lakes Church parking lot from 10am to 4pm broken down into 3 groups:

• 10am to 12pm will be kids under 12 skating
• 12pm to 2pm will be kids under 14 skating
• 2pm to 4pm is open to all ages

Rotary Interact and Grind Out Hunger 1st Annual Skateathon!

There will be booths from local vendors and non profits participating to help feed children this holiday season. In addition there will be a raffle of skate goods, random local business prizes and the grand prize is a CAR!!! Raffle tickets will be sold the day of the event and through the Rotary Interact clubs. All poundage raised will count towards the school of your choice.

Please download the Rotary Interact and Grind Out Hunger 1st Annual Skateathon Flyer (185) and the Skateathon Booth Rental contract (157).

Visit and RSVP for the event on Grind Out Hunger Facebook Fan Page

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Okay barely two weeks in to the window for Grind Out Hunger and the youth of Santa Cruz County is taking this years goal of 250,000 pounds very seriously. Usually I would blog about each school, highlights…no such luck on this one! Schools are coming out swinging going for their own personal goals that are quickly coming into focus.  Below are some points to take interest in…

Monterey Bay Academy and Grind Out Hunger

Monterey Bay Academy came out of the gate 1st again this year collecting almost 4000 pounds of food! I need to swing out there and get them motivated to keep going! These kids raised about the same amount last year and are very inspiring.

St Francis High School and Grind Out Hunger

Here comes St. Francis High School…John Marheineke is leading the youth to an amazing 8000 pound goal!!! This is the first year that St. Francis High has been in the mix…already breaking the donation station once, these kids are on fire and will easily hit their goal as they just passed the 5000 pound raised mark!!! YEWWWWWWWWWWW!

Santa Cruz County Fair and Grind Out Hunger

Santa Cruz County Fair President Michael Bethke gave us the green light and we took off with it! Posted up for two days during kids education days, Grind Out Hunger and The Santa Cruz County Fair brought in 3300 pounds for our efforts. Over 3500 3rd and 4th grade students rolled through and got to know all about Grind Out Hunger.

2010 is shaping up to be the year Grind Out Hunger shatters records to feed children. The youth of  Santa Cruz County has grabbed it by the tail and will firmly own it I have no doubt. The competition window has just started and already Grind Out Hunger has over 12,000 pounds collected. Next few weeks we will be speaking at New Brighton Middle, Soquel High School, Santa Cruz High School, Shoreline Middle School, Scotts Valley High and many many more.

That 250,000 pound goal seems like it will be hit before Thanksgiving this year! If you want the Donation Station hit us up, we will bring it out to you!

Grind Out Hunger Donation Station

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The students of Santa Cruz County need your support. Buy the 2010 Grind Out Hunger Skateboard and 100% of proceeds are donated directly to Second Harvest Food Bank. Designed by Jimbo Phillips Graphix when you buy this board the school of your choice will receive a 300 pound credit towards winning the contest in Santa Cruz County. The elementary, middle and high school that collects the most pounds per student will receive gift certificates from Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop and SkateWorks Skate Shop totaling over $1800 this year! 250,000 pounds is the goal this year can you help?

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SEPTEMBER 15TH & 16TH marks the Grind Out Hunger Annual Holiday Food Drive Kick-Off!

Grind Out Hunger is kicking off our annual food drive at the Santa Cruz County Fair during Education Days on the 15^th and 16th.  We will be teaming up with Elementary schools all across Santa Cruz County to fill a customized, Plexiglas half-pipe FULL of non-perishable food items in an effort to get food into the homes of families all across Santa Cruz County.

Since 2004 Grind Out Hunger has partnered up with Elementary, Middle, and High schools all over Santa Cruz County to get the student body involved with their schools Holiday Food Drive.  Last year Grind Out Hunger infiltrated 30 Santa Cruz county schools to raise over 130,000 pounds of food, and for 2010 we are aiming high and looking to double those numbers at 250,000 pound goal.

On the 15^th and 16^th we will be keeping track of every pound of food donated by participating schools.  Those numbers will be consolidated into each schools overall Holiday Food Drive donations, as well as Grind Out Hunger’s overall numbers for 2010.  Participating in the Grind Out Hunger Kick-Off is an easy way to get started early on boosting your school’s annual Holiday Food Drive numbers!

Last year Gateway Elementary School raised 6,403 pounds of food for the Santa Cruz community.   Along with the honor and recognition that came along with being the elementary school that raised the most pounds of food per student in Santa Cruz county, Gateway Elementary also won a Grind Out Hunger gift package.  The 2010 Grind Out Hunger winner will receive gift certificates to Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop and SkateWorks Skate Shop, a Jimbo Phillips customized Grind Out Hunger Skate Deck Trophy and countywide recognition at Second Harvest Food Banks annual awards dinner.

Come out and kick off your school’s annual Holiday Food Drive with us at Santa Cruz County Fair!  We’re looking forward to working with you!

Sincerely,

Danny Keith

Grind Out Hunger Founder

For more information and details around the Grind Out Hunger food drive go to www.grindouthunger.org or contact:

Bly Morales

Community Food Drives & Development Manager

831-772-7110 X226 or 831-566-2805

Sam Neider

School Food Drives & Events Associate

831-359-5579