Event Highlight: HQ Team Food Drive

Based in Ann Arbor, MI, the WILL WORK FOR FOOD Headquarters Team works very hard to ensure WWFF spreads itself into high schools and colleges across the nation diligently and successfully. With goal-setting, branding, and consulting services, dozens of (mostly) University of Michigan (UofM) students spend dozens of hours each week ensuring WILL WORK FOR FOOD's success. This past weekend, however, the WWFF-HQ Team practiced what it preaches and hosted a large-scale event at UofM:

The HQ Team Food Drive.

The Food Drive was a two-day event that started on Friday, March 11th. Groups, led by designated and trained team captains, were assigned neighborhoods near the Michigan campus and around Ann Arbor where they flyered and distributed collection bags to nearly 1,000 houses advertising the food dirve. Then, the next day from 12-3pm, volunteers spent their afternoons collecting canned goods left out by residents on their porches. Following the collection, each group returned to campus for a sorting party at which the HQ Team, Team Captains and volunteers gathered to see the impressive amount of food that they gathered.

"It was really inspiring to see so many students who truly wanted to make a difference." ~Levi Barry, WWFF Evaluation Manager

The final weigh-in for collected canned goods came in at a whopping 3,012 lbs. That is heavier than most mid-sized cars! Every pound of that food went to Food Gatherers, an Ann Arbor-based food bank that provides over 10,000 meals a day for those in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County who are in need.

With over 15 groups and over 80 volunteers, this group of dedicated U-M students did the Maize & Blue proud en route to raising over $5,000 (as of 3/14/11; new donations continue to pour in).

Levi Barry, a U-M junior and in his second year as WWFF's Evaluation Manager, was very impressed with the dedication put in by the volunteers and Team Captains, especially considering the timing of the event.

"Because so many of the volunteers' friends were spending this past Friday and Saturday partying in preparation for St. Patricks's Day [this coming Thursday], it was really inspiring to see these students who truly wanted to make a difference dedicate their weekend to making the Food Drive a success."

While a number of Food Drive volunteers have been a part of WILL WORK FOR FOOD's HQ Team for at least a few months, many were participating in their first WWFF event.

"I decided to be a team captain because it seemed like a great opportunity to
get some leadership experience and to help out a worthy cause," freshman Lauren Nieman said, "I think this type of event has a strong future at U-M because it was a great way for college students to get involved in the community while also helping malnourished kids abroad without taking up too much time from their busy schedules."

And with these kinds of endorsement from Michigan underclassmen, it is easy to understand why the future of WILL WORK FOR FOOD has the students at U-M so excited.

"I think it's great that WILL WORK FOR FOOD at Michigan is now practicing what it preaches," said Barry, "I look forward to next year's Food Drive as we work to build upon the success of this year's."

And they will.

Be on the lookout for blog posts this week about top captains and participants from the Food Drive.

There are so many great work efforts that have gone on across America through WILL WORK FOR FOOD, and it's easy to bring WWFF to your school. Don't hesitate, become a WWFF Rep today!

If you want to know every time WILL WORK FOR FOOD posts something new to our blog, email willworkforfoodblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Sign me up."