146th Week Update - Miles Neighborhood Food Collection Project

Hi Folks,

Tweet-like Update,

but With More Characters

It didn't take long to count the cash donations at the Rincon Market Saturday because there weren't that many. So I decided to stick around longer than usual to see if I could put some energy into the collection plate. The dollars were stacking up and then a gentleman approached my table.

"Is this program affiliated with a religion?" he asked?

"No," I replied.

He quickly withdrew a $5 bill from his pants pocket and dropped it on the plate. As he walked away I said to myself, "But I have to tell you, I do my One Can A Week program religiously."

The Miles School cafeteria is no picnic when it comes to ease of access for a number of our neighbors. With all of those stairs and gates to negotiate, it becomes a bit of a pain in the knee to attend our monthly neighborhood meeting. Consequently, Lorraine Aguilar, the sweetheart that she is, requested that we meet in the Miles Gym. Great idea! The access problem solved, but even bats won’t stay in that gym because of the horrific acoustics. It’s nearly impossible to hear a person speaking in a normal voice seated just 15 feet away.

When I spoke to Lorraine last Sunday and suggested we go back to the cafeteria, she came up with a better idea.

“How about holding our monthly meetings in people’s homes?“ she asked.

Lorraine is going to talk to others to see if there is interest. I like the idea because a change of venue may generate more interest in attending our meetings … even if they are there just to check out the drapes.


In last week’s update, There Are So Many Things to Fix… a couple of folks found the inspiration they needed to help feed America’s hungry kids.

Ari Kaplan, a nationally known author, business consultant and motivational speaker, sent me an email from his home in New York.. “…just wanted to let you know that I am doing my first can pick-up on Sunday :) So far, 3 of my neighbors have agreed - you have to start somewhere! Will keep you posted. Thanks for the inspiration.”

Phoebe Fox in Phoenix wrote, “To be honest, I haven't read these updates in a little while (life has been busy). The boys and I took a summer break from One Can a Week, and I am just now thinking about starting up again. My friend Emy and I had a great conversation about it today, and we got so excited by discussing the idea of how we could help make One Can a Week grow in Phoenix. Your email tonight inspired me to email my neighbors; it gave me just what I needed to get back into it and "do something". Thank you!”

Just one email inspires me to keep writing … and I got two. Wow!

Moments before she left, Martha introduced herself.

"Is that your car?" she asked right after making her purchase.

I was working Sunday for a few hours at Axis to help out my friend Maen. He wanted to take his kids to the pumpkin patch and I thought that was something he should do since he works maybe 70 hours a week.

"Can you tell me what that is all about?"

As I explained the One Can A Week program I could see an intense interest in her eyes. "I like that idea," she proclaimed, "and you will see me later when I check out your blog."

Most folks say that, but Martha’s eyes told me she will be back.

Giant Cereal Box

It takes two hands to carry the 9 lb. box of Quaker Oats cereal someone donated Sunday. That monster box is going to keep a lot of hungry tummies warm this winter, that’s for sure.

We collected a total of 174 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $31.50, a $25.00 check and $6.50 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter