Years Later

I inspired one person. Maureen Johnakin continues to have an annual food drive at University Pizza.  This makes me very, very happy!

Final Thoughts

The food drive has ended and I have many mixed emotions. Before I try to explain those thoughts, I should thank many of the people who helped so much.

First there was Ann Walters. Back in July she took me out to lunch and showed me how to use Blogger. PATIENTLY, she taught me some basic maneuvers. As time went by, Ann made herself available day and night to answer the dumbest questions. She also gave me some good advice.


Cindy Spurr was also an amazing help. While I found the idea of listing "blogspot.com" too awkward for my taste, Cindy's company Creative Ace was able to give me what I really wanted: a web address that ended dot com. I knew I had to buy the website name, but I didn't know I had to pay to have the site "hosted". Cindy offered to help me design my site and she also offered to host the site complimentary, an incredible savings. It was a testimony to my own stubbornness that I refused the design Cindy gave to me for the website. I felt my own "blog" was all that was needed. I chose to toss all of Cindy's hard work for the option of having a direct link to my blog. I am so appreciative of her understanding.


And finally, I would like to thank Jack Armistead for the great price for the ads in The Downtowner. Not only did Jack give me a great price, but when I described what I wanted in the ads, he was able to create that design exactly.

A huge Thank You to these three individuals!

As for the rest of this post, I will confess that in previous years I have run a very relaxed food drive. I have distributed the invitations (or green beans) and just sat back and waited for something to happen. I had a very laissez faire attitude! In the final week, I would call anyone who expressed a desire to help, schedule a pick-up and then go get whatever donation was available, which occasionally was nothing.

This year I became a little obsessed. I wanted so much to have a huge impact; I really wanted more than 50 restaurants to participate and at least 4-6 tons of food. With the addition of this blog/website and the ads in the Downtowner, I never thought this would not be accomplished. My dreams had no barrier, and I truly anticipated a huge response.

One last note. In 2008, after I had turned in all my paperwork, I was introduced to a woman at the Foodbank. I was under the impression she was a director or another person in upper-management. She said something then that I realize now was just a flippant remark. She said, "If you do this again, we are going to put you on TV on one of the afternoon newscasts." I took her at her word, and tried numerous times to contact her after November 1st. Realizing she might be very busy, I then tried contacting others at the Foodbank, including their own blog writer. Finally I wrote the Virginia-Pilot asking for a small human interest story. Since I was physically unable to invite every singe restaurant in Norfolk, Virginia Beach or Chesapeake, I thought a brief story might open the drive to anyone and everyone.

In the end, there was not one new contact created by the website or the Downtowner ads. Sure, many of my friends and family tuned in regularly to see the new posts, but not a single restaurant contributed as a result.

As this realization hit me, and as I realized I might have a lower total of participants than in previous years, I began to panic. In the last days of the food drive, I experienced the greatest amount of attrition than ever before. "We forgot" was the excuse given to me by more than 10 restaurants, despite my weekly outreach to all the participants!

In the end I never heard a word from the Pilot or the Foodbank. However, we were able to collect 700 pounds more than last year, plus the large outpouring of cash. And for this I am truly thankful. Those few restaurants who participated gave so much more than last year. Huge donations came in from Tanners Creek, University Pizza, and the Boar's Nest. The Freemason Abbey, Doumars, Hells Kitchen and Baxters also increased their donations.

But it may be months before I can let go of the "coulda, shoulda, woulda" syndrome. I am having a hard time forgiving the excuses of so many bartenders and waiters, employees who are still walking out the door with more than $100 or $200 a night. I only asked for 50 cents out of every hundred dollars, and only once a week...! What could I have done to promote this better... Why did so many "forget"? And on and on and on it goes!

I am not sure I learned any lessons this year. I don't know what I could have done different. But in the end, there is no learning curve, because this was the "blow-out" year. I will be unable to do this again next year. And despite my disappointment, I believe I am smart enough to realize what an incredible journey this has been. In the last four years, Kirk Springer (me!), has almost single handed been able to convince others to donate more than 5 tons of food to the foodbank, and more than $2,500!

And so the Green Bean Challenge comes to a close. Hunger will continue in our region and elsewhere. Please do not stop giving, especially in the summer months when donations plummet. Thank you for reading my blog!

Totals and Winners

2,819 POUNDS OF FOOD


$1,070 in CASH DONATIONS


THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED

The winners of the prizes and some of the food donations are listed below:


Tanners Creek (685 lbs) won the night stay at the Sheraton Waterside
University Pizza (539 lbs and $352) won the night stay at the Marriott Waterside
Boars Nest (339 lbs) won 2 tickets for the American Rover

Joe's Crab Shack - 2 AMC movie tickets
Green Onion - 2 Regal movie tickets and the Entertainment booklet
Freemason Abbey- 7 tickets to the Little Theater of Norfolk'
456 Fish - 2 tickets to the Little Theater of Virginia Beach
Big Easy - tickets to the Nauticus museum
Doumar's - gift basket from the NCVB
Baxter's - tickets to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
Dog-n-Burger - tickets to the Virginia Zoo
Shula's 347 - tickets to the Generic Theater
Hells Kitchen - one night of entertainment from Klass Act Productions

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED, AND WATCH FOR ONE LAST SUMMARY TO BE POSTED LATER TODAY!

The Celebration!

Don't forget to join us tomorrow night, December 18th at Tanners Creek on Colley Avenue at 5:30! We will be announcing all the totals, which are very surprising! And we will also announce the prize winners! See you there!

The Last Push

The donations have started to pour in and I am very excited to see and hear the stories of each restaurant's own drive. There sure seems to be alot of love coupled with generosity out there! Of course every food drive has its mix of disappointments and surprises, and this year is no different!. Today I lost another participant, if not two, but then I received some very exciting news from a good friend.

My friend Ann will match your monetary donations up to $500! And that is simply amazing! You can find out more about how to help by checking out her website:

www.amwrandomthoughts.blogspot.com

Please think about it and pass it on...now is your chance to double your gift!


THANK YOU ANN!

Update: Only moments after posting this I received a call from The Green Onion, a restaurant that dropped out weeks ago, which informed me the staff had gathered a collection despite the management's decision. So again, I have lost one and gained one within the last hour! Whew! Thank you staff of Green Onion!

Life. Celebrated Daily.

Life. Celebrated Daily. This is the motto for beautiful Norfolk, Virginia. There are rumors City Council wants to change the motto to something more current, but I do not agree. As I made my rounds today, encouraging the employees and restaurants, I saw the celebration of life. Such a diverse group of people working toward a common goal: easing hunger in our region. And it is a celebration --we recognize and value the lives of those around us who are less fortunate. Above, the staff of Dog-n-Burger takes a break from the bustling lunch crowd to give me some smiles!

Reed and Glenn are loyal friends to Charlie's Cafe, and they both have given generously to the food drive. Thanks guys!

Doumars is the home of the original waffle cone. It is also the home of some amazing people! This small diner on Monticello Avenue was the largest donor last year. Go, Doumars! Go! Let's see you win it again!

Don Shula is probably proud of his 347 wins in major league football, but he should be proud of these amazing ladies who have worked so hard for the Foodbank!

At Snappers on Granby, you can pick from a wonderful selection of fine wines. While sipping that aged Cabernet, you might notice the staff putting some canned goods into an empty wine box.

Over at Tabbs in Riverview, these girls serve up a double-whammy! Beautiful on the outside, but so much more inner beauty, too. Thank you!

Becca and the Christmas tree both represent the spirit of giving found at Tanners Creek.

Johnny, General Manager of Trilogy Bistro, awaits the theater crowd who will jam the place in just an hour or so. Quick Johnny! Put on your tie and coat! And thank you to your staff who have donated so much!

Keep it Going!

A chance encounter led to a great discussion with an old friend, and I am now glad to welcome the staff of Colley Cantina to the food drive! Please stop by in the afternoon and say Hi to the day bartender, Jenn - she's not only beautiful, but one of the sweetest girls you will meet. Welcome, Colley Cantina!

Maybe a little less exuberant, but still willing to join the fun, 37th and Zen has agreed to at least give it a try. Even if they can only come up with the 10 can minimum, that is 10 more cans! This venue has some amazing live music, as well as karaoke, an open mic night and a comedy night. Try to stop by and encourage the staff while you are there!

No Rest for the Weary!

Did you really believe I would take a two-week break away from the food drive? That is just CRAZY talk, especially with all the excitement beginning to percolate! Today I would like to welcome the staff of Jillians to the food drive. With only two weeks to go, I am sure they will work hard for the foodbank, and they still have a chance to win those prizes.

Prizes? Yes, there are prizes! Click on the link to the left of this blog, and you can read all about the many prizes involved with this year's drive. JUST ADDED: Two tickets to the Little Theater of Virginia Beach! The winner of these tickets will be able to choose from three amazing plays in the last half of this season. "An Act of the Imagination", "All My Sons" and "Mornings at Seven" will be performed in an intimate and comfortable setting. (To be honest, I wouldn't mind winning those tickets myself!)

Break Time

We are going to take a break for a week or so. Now is the time where we have to wait until the dates roll around to pick-up the donations. As of today, we have 25 participating restaurants. I will stop by each of them to see how their individual drives are going, but I don't think there will be much to post here.

In case you are wondering, here is what has happened in the last few days. Last Wednesday night, University Pizza had a fundraiser and they did a really good job (read below). On Friday, it came to my attention that my contact for two other restaurants had quit his job, and without his support, I lost those participants. About an hour later, I discovered that Charlie's Cafe had joined our cause -- so I lost two and gained one.

Friday night, Tanners Creek had a massive party with a live band , but those patrons were not as generous as we had hoped. However, Tanners Creek is continuing with their drive, and I believe the staff is going to raise a lot of donations for the foodbank!

On Saturday I received a phone message from a guy who said the following, "I own two bars, and one of them is already participating, so I don't think its necessary for the other bar to do anything for you." ???? I guess the staff at one location likes to help and at the other location, they do not. It was just an odd phone call, unexpected and curiously angry.

And so you see, that is how it will go for the next two weeks. If anything exciting happens, I'll be sure to post. But please, stay tuned because the end of the drive is the most fun part!

Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks

If you go back to the beginning of this blog, or just click on the link How to Help, you will notice that the very first requirement to help in my food drive is that your contribution be both fun and voluntary. I can tell you this requirement was met tenfold at the special event at University Pizza on the night before Thanksgiving.

First let me give you some background. Maureen (pictured above, left), a bar manager for University Pizza, really took this food drive to heart. She thought long and hard about the best way to increase donations, and finally settled on a brilliant idea. She asked Michael "Nuzzie" Nusbaum (pictured above, right) to come in for an evening of "guest bartending".

Nuzzie graduated from Norfolk Academy several years ago and has been attending college at Hampden-Sydney ever since. But before he moved, Nuzzie had established himself as one of the most popular students in Norfolk, and he has A LOT OF FRIENDS! Maureen and Nuzzie concocted this idea of having him step in as a guest bartender and making a night of it with recent alumni of both Norfolk Academy and Norfolk Collegiate. Add in a few students from Maury High School, and the night was ready to explode.

Maureen created a site on Facebook, and sure enough, students returning for Thanksgiving break heard about the event and started hitting the Will Attend button like crazy! And it sure was a crazy night as University Pizza was at max capacity for several hours.

To add to the fun, Nuzzie's father donated a box of special-order beer koozies, which were sold as a souvenir of the night. All in all, between the door donations and the koozie sales, University Pizza was able to raise more than $300 for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. Oh, plus all the food shown in the picture at top!

Thank you Nuzzie for volunteering to work SO HARD during your Thanksgiving break! Thank you Nusbaum family for the koozies! And Thank you Maureen for your tireless labor in putting this together!