Heather Thrall from the City of Tucson, Planning & Development Services Department, the folks who approve every building permit in Tucson, emailed to say she had a food pick up. There was a sense of urgency in her words because she wanted to make sure the food arrived at the Community Food Bank before Thanksgiving. It did. Their first donation amounted to 96 lbs. of food and $25 in cash.
The provocative headline is not meant to disparage insurance salesmen or any other persistent salesperson who has a tough product to sell; one that requires a substantial commitment on the part of the buyer. It is, however, meant to highlight the fact that the word commitment is often viewed as a negative experience even when it involves very essential necessities such as a home, an automobile and taking care of our neighbors.
Friday I received a call and an invitation to dinner at the Blue Fin restaurant on Saturday night from my high school friend Ellen Adelstein. Before we hung up Ellen told me she read my latest blog on my search for a sponsor and then suggested “I sounded a little desperate.”
Well, I am desperate, but not for myself. I personally have everything I need and when thing just don’t go as planned, I change and make new plans. An old girl friend who witnessed some of my “bad days or weeks” got mad at me because she didn’t like how I would get into trouble and then suddenly things always came up “smelling like roses.” Her words.
The desperation I feel is for hungry kids, our society and folks just not caring until it falls on them. A great example is the mega storm Sandy. People say ‘Oh, my goodness” and then run off to help for a little bit. But what about those problems that are just as big, 40,000 hungry kids in Tucson. Unfortunately there are no headlines. Teachers tell me those kids are there falling asleep in the classrooms and slowing themselves and the other kids down. Bill Carnegie, CEO of the Community Food Bank tells me those kids are there because he tries to feed as many as he can every day.
Powerful people reaching out to people who have potential. A great example is General Mills’ support of 9-year-old Samantha Gordon a player on a boy’s football team in Oregon. (Click on link to view Sam “Sweet Feet” Gordon’s 1911 yards, 35 touchdowns and 65 tackles.) By placing Samantha on the Wheaties Cereal Box General Mills is helping her family, kids in general, young girls in particular and our society reconsider arbitrary rules and standards. On top of that they will also sell a heck of a lot of cereal.
Closer to home, powerful people can search for great mechanics or cooks or merchants and help them go search for great mechanics or cooks or merchants and help them go into or expand their business. Know-how is just as important as financing. This will create more jobs and fewer hungry kids. Oh, there is one catch. As in the case of General Mills, it does require a genuine commitment to our children which in turn will help in the evolution of life and humanity on this planet.
This week’s donations included lots of beans, potatoes, bananas and a big frozen ham (center of the cart). Even as we approach the fifth anniversary of One Can A Week, all of our neighbors are still very much engaged and enthusiastic about helping feed the hungry families here in Tucson. And that’s exactly as it should be. Hunger is a very large problem in our society and we can’t tire until everyone is guaranteed a healthy diet every day of the week.
We collected a total of 230 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $26.00, a $25.00 check and $1.00 in cash.
See you Sunday,
Peter
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