South Whidbey Lions Food Drive – November 12th

Nov 072011
 
 November 7, 2011  Posted by Mark Clawson No Responses »

Lions Club of South Whidbey and their Lions Day food drive last year.

Whenever a Lions Club gets together, problems get smaller and communities get better. Founded in 1917, Lions Club International is best known for fighting blindness, I’m sure that we have all had a white cane pinned to us at one time in our lives.

The Lions Club of  South Whidbey Island volunteer for many different kinds of community service projects and this weekend the Good Cheer Food Bank is the recipient of their kind work. The club is part of Lions Club International which has 46,000 clubs and 1.35 million members making it the world’s  largest service club organization.

You’ll be seeing this banner from Freeland to Clinton where Lions Club members will gather to collect your non-perishable food donations. The Lions Club will also have donation jars for your monetary contributions, checks are always welcome!

Monetary donations continue to be the primary source for keeping our shelves full.

Good Cheer is very good at stretching the dollar; $1 dollar in monetary donations has come to equal $9 worth of food because of the creative shopping programs that we have put in place. You will always know that we are maximizing the value of your donations.

November 12th – 11 AM till 3 PM at all of our local grocery stores

You can click the Photo to Find Out More About Our Local Stores

Freeland

Langley

Bayview

Ken’s Corner

Clinton

The best and most beautiful things in the world
cannot be seen nor touched
but are felt in the heart.

~ Helen Keller ~

Good Cheer!

Major Success! Clyde Magic Jar Food Drive

May 122011
 
 May 12, 2011  Posted by Mark Clawson 1 Response »

Can you believe…….$1600!

The Clyde’s Magic Jar was truly magical for the Good Cheer Food Bank and with our creative shopping program that translates into a lot of food.

Thanks to all who donated to the jar and to Lynn and Blake Willeford from the Clyde Theatre. Also Lindsay Communications and Island Athletic for their matching donations. We had another matching donor step up towards the end of the event so the results were amazing!

As many of you already know the biggest food drive of the year is this Saturday.

The 19th annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive, quite a mouthful! This drive combines the resources of our postal employees with thousands of volunteers across the nation.

You can see by the above billboard that this event is getting a lot of exposure.

Their goal is to help restock community food banks, pantries and shelters for needy families throughout the summer, and to build upon the 1 billion pounds of non-perishable food collected since 1992 from millions of generous postal customers.

National and local NALC food drive coordinators hope to expand on last year’s record of 77.1 million pounds of donations collected along postal routes, and with help from key national partners, they have promoted the Stamp Out Hunger drive by filling the airwaves with radio and television public service announcements, publishing newspaper and magazine advertisements, engaging online communities via social networks, and creating hundreds of unique events both to attract public attention and to encourage postal customers to place bags of food by their mailboxes on May 14.

Thanks again for your support and be sure to get your food bags out early on Saturday morning. Those with post office boxes can bring their bags to the post office at any time through Saturday.

Good Cheer

National Letter Carrier’s Food Drive – Let’s Stamp Out Hunger

May 062011
 
 May 6, 2011  Posted by Mark Clawson No Responses »

The 2011 Letter Carrier’s Food Drive, to stamp out hunger, is scheduled for this coming Saturday, May 14, 2011. Make sure that you mark your calendar.

Good Cheer will be the recipient of the community donations to the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Your local postal carrier will pick up the food you leave by your mailbox on Saturday, May 14th. The U.S. Postal Service is making it very easy to get involved; you just have to get it down to your mailbox. Since we are in a rural community we won’t be given any blue food bags but the post office will send out reminders on Tuesday May 10th!

Spread the word and get people to read the blog or checkout the Good Cheer Facebook pages.  It doesn’t get any easier to help than this!

Postmaster Jack Harrington at the Langley post office stressed that people should put their food donations out early Saturday to insure that their packages are picked up. There are many of us who have post office boxes and Good Cheer will place donation barrels at the post offices on South Whidbey Island. We plan on having the barrels in place by Monday afternoon so this will give those with post office boxes more time to get involved.

This is an incredible donation day for the Good Cheer Food Bank. Our hopes are high and I’m sure that you will all come through; these type of donations are great fun and they provide more variety to our Food Bank clients. Please put out non-perishable foods that are not beyond their expiration date by your mailbox. Giving can be contagious so let’s talk to our neighbors and make a big statement here on the island.

Here is a video of why community support is so important. The woman speaking uses one of the food banks in Western Washington. They have a family of six and a newborn. They just missed qualifying for food stamps.

Thank you and thanks to the postal workers who make it all possible.

Good Cheer!

The Clyde Food Drive and Magic Change Jar

Mar 312011
 
 March 31, 2011  Posted by Mark Clawson No Responses »

Photo Credit: Robbie Cribbs

The Clyde Theater will sponsor the Good Cheer Food Drive for the month of April.

Blake and Lynn Willeford, owners of the Clyde, had their first food drive for Good Cheer in 2009 donating 600 pounds of food. Last year it was 1,000 pounds and they are hoping to top that number this year. The Magic Change Jar at the Clyde is also benefiting Good Cheer. The donations and matches started in March and will run through the end of April.

Lynn and Blake both volunteer at the Good Cheer Food Bank and two of their employees do the same; Mindy Thompson works at the Food Bank and Eve Carty helps out at the Good Cheer Garden.

The Magic Change Jar has a great history. Lynn and Blake were fortunate to have matching partners Lindsay Communications and the Island Athletic Club on board. In 2009 the patrons and MCJ partners ended up donating about $ 5,000 to six local charities, including $1,000 to Good Cheer. This was followed in 2010 when they took it up a notch by raising an additional $8,667 for Haiti earthquake relief.

When I spoke to Lynn about their community involvement she also spoke to their work in Haiti and Africa. I mentioned my post on Kid Helping Kids, a program helping kids in Africa that my daughter was involved in.

Lynn explained that Blake and Kelly Henriot, president of the Langley Middle School’s PTA had organized a shoe drive. Both are avid runners who had plenty of pairs of shoes lying around. A two-week drive collected more than a thousand pairs of shoes and sandals that were shipped to Senegal. Shoes and sandals are vital in Africa to reduce incidents of trauma, hookworm and parasites that enter the bare foot. Foot injuries can keep adults from going to work, and children from going to school.

“Kids there don’t hop on the school bus,” Willeford said. “They often walk miles to school. If they get an infection, they can’t go.”

Island Athletic Club was a tremendous source of donations making the program a real success!

The Clyde is a wonderful part of our community!


Creating birthday memories…..lucky guy!

Queens who used to be prinesses.

Kids just having fun!

Thanks for helping out Blake and Lynn!

Good Cheer and Popcorn!

Useless Bay Coffee – March Food Drive

Mar 022011
 
 March 2, 2011  Posted by Mark Clawson No Responses »

The March Food Drive for the Good Cheer Food Bank is being sponsored by Des Rock and his Useless Bay Coffee Company. Think coffee and think Good Cheer!  ”We are proud to be a part of such a rich and creative community” says Dez of South Whidbey Island.

The Useless Bay Coffee Company is at the heart of the community. People old and new meet and enjoy their fresh roasted coffee and tasty food. The aromatic mix of roasting coffee beans and their La Marzocco and Paninni grills makes the setting even more impressive.

Des checking orders next to one of his baristas.

Very Art-Deco and very much in tune with the artist community that we live in.

The coffeehouse has recently expanded and the courtyard is a wonderful place to listen to local musicians play. Fund raising has been and will continue to be a part of who Useless Bay Coffee is.  The Langley Middle School Jazz band benefit dinner, Orphan Ride benefit dinner, Sudanese Refugee benefit dinner, Coffee beans for Haiti, Whidbey Island Nourishes Annual Auction, Langley Chef Benefit Dinner Nights, have all been great successes.

Donations to the South Whidbey Family Resource Center, Whidbey Island Children’s Theater, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, and others are a symbol of what your purchases are doing for others. Just think Good Cheer this month and bring a can of food when you drop by.

At the core of  Useless Bay Coffee is their imported European 1950’s Probat UG15 drum roaster. Visitors can sit and sip while observing artisan roasting. Their small batch philosophy gives each batch a personal touch. Their owner and roaster, Des Rock, is always happy to speak with those who wish to learn more about the processes of roasting. You can read a post by Sue Krause, Behind the Scenes with Des Rock and the Coffee Beans, by clicking on the photo below.

Is there more to know about the Useless Bay Coffee Company? You can check out their Facebook page or visit their website where you can even purchase their coffee.

Many thanks to Des and his crew.

Almost forgot, here is a fun slideshow.

Good Cheer!

Freeland Library – The January Food Drive Sponsor

Jan 082011
 
 January 8, 2011  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 1 Response »

The Freeland Library is starting the New Year off by sponsoring the Good Cheer Food Bank food drive!

As most of you know Sno-Isle Libraries is the main Library service in Island and Snohomish County (excluding Everett) in the state of Washington. The joint boards of Snohomish and Island County Commissioners created the Snohomish-Island Inter-County Rural Library District in 1962. The library is funded by a property tax levy on all properties in the unincorporated areas of both counties, and cities that have annexed to the library district.

We want to thank the library for sponsoring our food drive this month. Laura Canby, the marketing guru at Good Cheer, has created a display inside the library for all to see.

Remember, the next time you stop by the library to pickup a book, bring along a can of soup or any non-perishable item. You’ll find the familiar Good Cheer barrel in the library, remember that every donation helps!

The Freeland Library has a wonderful space for children to explore reading and enjoy the companionship of others. There is no question that Freeland has a great  library, one that suits the community so well!

I was reading about the libraries non-profit organization, Friends of the Library, and found this quote from Margaret Mead.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Sounds so much like our community on South Whidbey Island, now if only the world can follow the same path.

Friends of the Library are non-profit volunteer organizations that  bring together involved and caring people who support and promote the community libraries.

Through their fund raising efforts, Friends groups undertake projects and supply items which fall outside the established budget of their local library. Each group of dedicated volunteers gives countless hours of service and raises thousands of dollars to enhance the services of their local library.

I wanted to highlight the work that these people perform since it is so important to the local libraries in both of the counties.

In 2009, Sno-Isle Friends of the Library groups raised over $278,000

The funds raised by Friends of the Library provide programming for all ages, support the Summer Reading Program for children, purchase furniture and other library enhancements.

All Friends of the Library groups welcome new members. To learn about your local libraries Friends Group just click here.

Good Reading and Good Cheer!

Whidbey Island Winery – Good Cheers December Tasting

Dec 012010
 
 December 1, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 2 Responses »

Whidbey Island Winery is our food drive sponsor for the month of December. The winery owned by Gregory and Elizabeth Osenback have been donating wine, tasting experiences and tours to many charities in the area. Gregory said that at this time of year…”In the spirit of holiday giving we are teaming up with our customers and donating all of our December tasting fees to the Good Cheer Food Bank of South Whidbey.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas!”

The Winery which is famous for its Dine in the Vine Events will be donating all of their weekend tasting fees to support the food bank. The winery is open from 11 a.m until 5 p.m. on the weekends.

There are 6 different varieties of wine at the tasting. The tasting fee is $3,  you can donate more than the normal fee if desired.

The Whidbey Island Winery began as a dream and a chance for career changes for Gregory and Elizabeth Osenbach. The two lived in Monroe and were making homemade wine. Producing wine in Monroe was a bit of a problem because the climate was too wet.

The biggest part of that dream was moving to Whidbey Island and starting a winery from scratch. As many of you know, Whidbey Island lies in the rain shadow from the Olympic Mountain Range. This makes Whidbey somewhat drier than much of the Puget Sound.

In 1984 Greg and Elizabeth moved to Whidbey Island. They found a 10-acre site that would be perfect for their winery; it was very close to Langley and would be a good location for retailing their wines.

They built a home and started growing grapes. With a maturing crop of grapes it was time to expand. In 1990 they built the winery building and proceeded to get all the licenses that would be required to sell their wines.

1991 was their first production year and by the summer of 1992 they had sold 400 cases of wine. Today that number is between 3000 and 3500 cases of wine.

Currently about one third of the grapes that are used in producing their wines comes from the Whidbey Island vineyard; the rest of the grapes come from the Yakima Valley. Greg and Elizabeth have developed a strong relationship with the growers in Yakima. They have input on how the grapes are grown. It used to be that the growers were paid by the pound for their grapes. This tended to reduce the quality of the grapes grown since the emphasis was on quantity. Now grapes are sold by the acre, there is less of a focus on quantity and more on the quality of the grape. If the crop level is lower you have better quality and the flavors are more intense.

If you click on the wine label above you can view a short video about the winery.

Leah, Greg, Elizabeth and Sangiovese the cat.

Elizabeth does the important book work that is needed for the enterprise’s success. Leah Waaramaki is the other half of the wine making team, with Greg, and she is also involved in the wineries marketing efforts. Leah comes from the wine growing area of California and has provided a lot of energy and love to the business and it’s wine making. Sangiovese keeps the birds out of the vineyard and runs for cover when eagles are overhead.

If you click on the above label there is a video interview with Leah Waaramaki talking about Seattle’s 2010 Wine Awards where they won four awards.

The Whidbey Island Winery produces both white and red wines. Three of the whites are produced at the vineyard; Madeline Angevine, Island White and Siegerrebe.

To find out more about the winery you can visit their website by clicking here.

The Winery is located on 5237 Langley Road in Langley, Washington, 98260.

You can call them at 360-221-2040

Coastal Community Bank Food Drive for Good Cheer

Nov 042010
 
 November 4, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Coastal Community Bank is November’s Food Drive Sponsor for the Good Cheer Food Bank. Their branch on Whidbey Island is located in Freeland and they take pride in being your community bank. They are a growing bank that is making a positive impact in our lives. They support local non-profits and the community through their Employee Giving Fund.

Coastal is an Everett-based bank, founded in 1997, the emphasis is on local decision making and local lending.

The Coastal Employee Giving Fund has contributed over $162,000 to local non-profits. The fund is managed by a committee of employees and they decide how the funds are used.

Since It’s inception in 2002 the Greater Everett Foundation, their Employee Giving Fund, has set the standard for employee giving in Snohomish County. Lee Pintar, founder of Coastal Community Bank, explained why the Employee Giving Fund was created. “It’s representative of the bank’s commitment to Community. We believed this is the best way to deliver charitable dollars to the communities where we do business. This is about the bank’s employees doing something together in order to make a real impact.”

Coastal Community Bank has been a supporter of the HELP Network. Their Employee Giving Fund has benefited the  South Whidbey Youth Connection, Island County Readiness to Learn, Senior Services of Island County and now Good Cheer.

Mary Bell, the branch manager in Freeland explained their involvement. “We believe in giving personal service and care as well as taking special interest in what is important to the people of this island. Good Cheer gives us the opportunity to accomplish both. We admire an organization such as Good Cheer that gives selflessly every day of the year. Coastal Community Bank wants to be a part of the outstanding service Good Cheer offers to the people on Whidbey. We believe in their hope of making family life easier and taking away a little of the stress that daily events can bring. If we can do this by having a barrel in our lobby, then we feel fortunate to have that opportunity.”

If your in the neighborhood, just drop by the bank and do what you can.

Thanks and Good Cheer!

Prima Bistro Food Drive for Good Cheer

Nov 012010
 
 November 1, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

I was talking to Jenn Jurriaans at the Prima Bistro a couple of weeks ago about sponsoring the monthly food drive for the Good Cheer Food Bank. Jenn indicated that the Bistro has had a tradition of helping the food bank over Thanksgiving. The food drive provides a drop off location in Langley and gives the Bistro an opportunity to expand their traditional support for the food bank.


Coastal Community Bank, in Freeland, will be the other participant and I will have a post about their participation later this week.

November, bring in 3 cans of food for the Good Cheer Food Bank and receive a complimentary dessert with your dinner (limit one per table)!

There will be a donation barrel in the Bistro and at the entrance to the Star Store in Langley (south parking lot).  So, if you are not planning a dinner at the Bistro remember you can still make a donation of food to Good Cheer.


Prima Bistro is owned by Sieb and Jenn Jurriaans. It is interesting to note that Sieb started working in the restaurant business at Cafe Campagne in the Pike Place Market.  He became a sous chef at the Bis on Main in Bellevue and then the executive chef at Saltoro’s in north Seattle. Jenn taught at Olympic Hills Elementary for nine years before getting involved in the operation of the bistro.


Prima Bistro has that sense of coziness and warmth; whether it be on a cold winter night or a warm sunny day.


There are many things that make a great restaurant; though most of us think of great food! That is surely the case at Prima Bistro. Often, however, it is the intangibles that make a restaurant special. The bistro has a sense of place; the feeling that you get by just being there.


Jenn and Sieb’s business is their heart’s desire. It is a place that they share with their children and the community. A place to be with friends and to meet new ones. You won’t be disappointed!

You can visit their website by clicking here or their blogsite by clicking here.

Prima Bistro is a French inspired Northwest Bistro located in Langley on beautiful Whidbey Island, serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m.

Happy Hour Every Day 3:00 p.m. -- 6:00 p.m. and Live music every Thursday night.

Good Cheer!

Whidbey Coffee Food Drive

Oct 072010
 
 October 7, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Good Cheer is starting a new food drive program in partnership with local businesses here on Whidbey Island. Each month we hope to have a business who will adopt a food drive for the entire month. This program will provide the food bank with another source of donations and help in creating a hunger-free community on South Whidbey Island.

I was thinking about how this program needed to get off  to a good start and one of the first names that came to my mind was Whidbey Coffee. I remember meeting Dan Ollis, the founder of Whidbey Coffee, when he was 18 and had just opened his first coffee stand in front of Freeland’s Payless grocery store.  At the time I owned the Ace Hardware store across the street and being a lover of coffee I would frequent Dan’s business at least a couple times a day.  We soon built a friendship based on a mutual respect for the importance of hard work and taking risks.

Our paths have continued to cross. We have partnered on many projects such as Chocolate Chipmunk Company, Creepy Castle, Relay for Life, Island County Fair and now Good Cheer’s monthly adopted food drives.  One of the many blessings in collaborating with Dan is working with Stacey and Megan between the three of them they continue to inspire me and serve as a reminder as why I still believe the American Dream is still alive.

Whidbey Coffee Co., which Dan started as a cart in 1989, now has 10 cafes and drive-throughs. A couple years ago, Dan bought Victrola Coffee, which has a Seattle roasting facility, three coffeehouses and a reputation for high-quality beans. Together the chains have 120 employees and the headquarters is located in Freeland, Washington.


Dan has been very active in supporting the local charities here on Whidbey Island and had this to say about the food drive. “I have been a part of the South Whidbey community since 1977, and I personally feel strongly that the efforts being made by the Volunteers of Good Cheer are truly worthy. I and the staff of Whidbey Coffee are proud to do its part in helping our Community become just a little bit better.”

The Whidbey Coffee Food Drive will benefit the Good Cheer Food Bank through its South Whidbey locations. The Oak Harbor locations will benefit the food banks on North Whidbey.

Whidbey Coffee has more than just its Drive Thru coffee stands; this can be seen from the photos of the Freeland Lighthouse Cafe. A cozy spot to enjoy a coffee and a bite to eat. You can also find Whidbey Coffee at the local grocery stores or you can order online.

It appears that Starbucks likes what they see at the recently purchased Victrola. Here is a CNN video with an interview of Dan Ollis. It’s just a short video but worth a look; be sure to view in full screen mode, you’ll have to watch a short ad. Click Here

Not surprising that so many good ideas and people come from Whidbey Island:)


Thanks to Dan and all of those that work at WhidbeyCoffee. You can find their website by clicking here.

Good Cheer!

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