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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

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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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Local youth and rock band Rapid Fire will be playing at Britannia Arms on December 11th at 8:00pm with all proceeds benefiting (click to donate) Grind Out Hunger and feeding kids this holiday season. So impressed with these guys as they keep on being relentless and their ever growing charitable activity. GREAT JOB RAPID FIRE keep it up! 1 in 4 kids are going food insecure in Santa Cruz County please support!

Rapid Fire at Britannia Arms and all proceeds benefit Grind Out Hunger

Make sure to RSVP here Rapid Fire Event and please support local musicians and Grind Out Hunger.

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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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Thats right just when you thought the Skateathon was super fantabulous we went one step further and secured a 1999 Mustang 5.0 to raffle off!!! When you bring your 10 pounds of food or $10 you will get raffle tickets towards winning this awesomely divine car. Dominic Cusimano of 3D Construction has gone above and beyond for this event and Aptos Towing was kind enough to donate the car. So make sure you come down tomorrow and get some skating in and get a chance to win a car!! See you 10am tomorrow!!! Twin Lakes Church.

3D Construction and Aptos Towing up the ante with a 1999 Mustang!

Rotary Interact and Grind Out Hunger 1st Annual Skateathon!

P.S DJ Tech Minds will be showing up around noon to spin some beats and make the event as festive as it can be, feel free to come in costume!

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The Rotary Interact Club hopes to raise 10,000 pounds of food benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank

WATSONVILLE — Students at Watsonville High School are being challenged.

Danny Keith of the Second Harvest Food Bank encourages Watsonville High... (Robinson Kuntz/Sentinel)

The Rotary Interact Club wants them to raise 10,000 pounds of healthy food in 30 days to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank’s Food for Children Program.

“Our community is in major need for food,” said Martha Rodriguez, vice president of the Rotary Interact Club. The club is run by students whose parents belong to the Rotary Club.

Watsonville High School did not take part in the Second Harvest holiday food drive this winter. But the Interact Club is now excited to help feeding the community through this initiative, Rodriguez said.

Second Harvest Food Drives Manager Bly Morales and Promotions Associate Danny Keith kicked off the food drive Tuesday and Friday at the Henry J. Mello Center. Together, they tried to raise awareness among students.

“This is your problem, this is your community,” said Keith to the 400 students gathered in the Mello Center Friday. “You guys are the next leaders of our generation.”

Students can bring food to the school to help smash the 10,000-pound barrier by April 15. Every student donating 10 cans of food can even get a Saturday detention class knocked off, if they happen to have one, Keith said.

“I think they can do big things, they just need to get informed and motivated,” Morales said about the students.

In his speech, Keith reminded students that one in four kids are going hungry every day in Santa Cruz County. In a striking move, he asked half of the assembly to raise their hands and said: “This is how many people are going hungry in your school.” Keith also asked students to focus on doing well in tests as Watsonville High School and other Pajaro Valley schools have recently been announced to be the among the lowest-achieving in the state. It’s an issue that some think is related to poverty and inadequate nutrition in the county.

“It definitely could be a factor; kids who don’t have a good breakfast can’t think,” said Second Harvest Development Director Lisa Allyn, stressing that 24 percent of the food collected year-round by Second Harvest is dedicated to the children program.

Junior student Paulina Hurtado shares the same opinion.

“The healthier you are, the better you can adapt to new environments and face challenges,” Hurtado said.The 17-year-old was inspired by Keith’s intervention and intends to bring a few cans of food to help, she said.

Keith will come to Watsonville High School every week during the drive to monitor the progress.

If the Rotary Interact Club reaches its 10,000-pound goal, the Morning Madhouse Radio on KDON 102.5 will present members a prize, Keith said.

“I don’t want to give all the details now,” Keith said. “It’s a surprise.”

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Kids…are POWERFUL!!!!

I am overcome with emotion while writing this blog…Grind Out Hunger set a goal of 100,000lbs for the 2009-2010 Kids Helping Kids Holiday Food Drive…Bly Morales, Lisa Allyn and myself planned speaking engagements, distributed DVD’s, spoke at dozens of schools across Santa Cruz County, built a holiday window downtown, muscled a 41st Ave Safeway food drive, landed the cover for the Thanksgiving edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, 102.5 KDON was the leading media sponsor, Santa Cruz Junior Derby Girls raised food, birthday party food drives were going down, Grind Out Hunger Skateboards were selling like hotcakes, 831 magazine did a cover story on Grind Out Hunger….I could go on and on with the exposure and support for Grind Out Hunger in 2009. But when it comes right down to it, THE KIDS ARE THE ONES WHO PULLED THROUGH AND MADE THIS HAPPEN and I am proud to say for the 2009-2010 Grind Out Hunger Campaign together we raised 116,853 pounds not only smashing the goal of 100,000 pounds but almost doubling 2008-2009′s 60,000 pounds….never underestimate the YOUTH!

Below are the winners of the 2009-2010 Grind Out Hunger food drive, congratulations to all! I am so humbled at the support and love that Grind Out Hunger has received….we will see you at the March 10th awards dinner.

A 'Grind Out Hunger' skate deck from Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop on 41st Avenue can help out the needy while at the same time giving the teen in your life a treasured present (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

Empire Academy winning high school $600 prize and 3-Pete raising 8530lbs

Aptos Jr. High middle school winner $300 prize raised 7800lbs

Gateway Elementary School $300 prize

Special thanks to: Bly Morales, Willy McRea, Lisa Allyn, Sheree Storm, Kate Chabrek, Jimbo Phillips(provided art for skateboard deck and campaign),  Sam Segovia, Showbiz, The Morning Madhouse, 102.5 KDON, Greg Archer, The Good Times, SoWat TV, The Santa Cruz Sentinel, KION 46, 831 Magazine, Ryan Zen Lama, All the schools that had us out to talk, Safeway on 41st Ave, Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, Zane Keith, Cole Kerby, Mia Morales, Omar Morales, Xavier Morales, Mark Conley, Romain Fonsegrives, Shmuel Thaler, Santa Cruz Innovation and Design, Maya Delano, Lars Maptstead, Paul Gallagher, Surf Club at Berkley, people that donated money though Facebook,  volunteers that helped out anytime we asked, The Santa Cruz County Boy Scouts, Brian Russ, Classic Cleaners, Coats For Kids, Dusty Nelson (DVD master!), iSpot Compassion,  Second Harvest Food Bank and of course my wife Taniya and family for  supporting me with everything needed to make all of these things happen….

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!!!!

2010-2011 here we come…

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KDON 102.5 is down for the community and they show their support in Santa Cruz County by being a media sponsor for Grind Out Hunger. Bringing heat daily for the 831, KDON 102.5 ‘s Sam Diggedy host of The Morning Madhouse “Skaters are a unified group that take care of their own, Grind Out Hunger utilizes this mindset to influence the kids to help kids..we are amped to be on board…no pun intended”. Check out The Morning Madhouse every day from 6am to 10am .

Listen to the 15 second commercial here Grind Out Hunger KDON/PSA 15sec and  the 30 second PSA commercial here Grind Out Hunger KDON/PSA 30sec . Pic below is none other than Showbiz of The Morning Madhouse locking tracks for the PSA. Much love to the KDON family.

Showbiz of KDON 102.5 The Morning Madhouse