THANK YOU FOR YOUR VOTES FAIRBANKS!

Yaaaaa Fairbanks!  Thank you for your votes!  We have been officially notified by Kendall Auto that we are one of the 4 recipients of $5,000. 

Thank you for your support!!

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/30/12, 10:33 AM

Daisies volunteer!

Thank you Daisy Troop 127!

Our customers will enjoy your cookies!

And the bags of rice you bagged are so valuable to the households we serve!

1/3 of our workforce are local students.  To keep this Food Bank running smoothly we need 18,000 volunteer hours each year.  Thank you Daisy Troop, and all our young volunteers!  You make up over 6000 hours of volunteer time each year!

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/23/12, 02:55 PM

Wells Fargo celebrates 160 years with a donation to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank

It always amazes me how supportive this community is!  Yesterday we received a phone call from Wells Fargo bank.  As a celebration of 160 years of banking they are giving $160,000 to charities across Alaska.  They had $16,000 to give to the charity of their choice in Fairbanks and we, the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, were picked!

We asked Darren, the Northern Alaska District President of Wells Fargo, how we became the recipients and he responded that it was employee choice.  MANY, MANY thanks to the employees who voted for us!

Pictured above are Darren Franz (Northern Alaska District President of Wells Fargo), Sam Kirstein (Fairbanks Community Food Bank Executive Director), and Vicki Kennebec (Fairbanks District Manager of Wells Fargo) with the Wells Fargo horse!  The horse is now proudly displayed in our lobby.

Wells Fargo has been in Alaska for the last 95 years.  They are huge supporters of nonprofits and schools in Alaska, focusing their giving on education, community development, human services, the arts, and the environment.

Thank you, Wells Fargo, for celebrating your anniversary by giving.  It was an investment well spent!

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/19/12, 06:46 PM

Thank you Flint Hills Resources and United Way of the Tanana Valley!

Flint Hills Resources held a wonderful thank you party for over 140 volunteers from over 20 agencies yesterday!

We had the great honor of thanking Mike Walsh (not pictured) - Board President, Brad Johnson - Board Vice President, Robert Holden - Past President, Hollis Hall - Board Secretary, Karen Kiss - Board Treasurer, Larry Baillon - Board Member and daily volunteer (30 hours a week), Stan Zielinski - volunteer for over 20 years, Jim Murray - daily volunteer (30 hours a week).

Below is Jim Murray, preping for the luncheon, but always on duty!

Many thanks to Flint Hills Resources for the wonderful lunch, and also to United Way of the Tanana Valley who worked with FHR to organize this great event.

It is so hard to pick 8 out of 1800 incredibly valuable volunteers.  For the other 1792 of you, you are the backbone of this organization and are so appreciated!  Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to this Fairbanks Community Food Bank, and to the Fairbanks community.

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/19/12, 01:23 PM

Kendall Auto Alaska vote update - why your vote is so important to this Food Bank

Thank you to the many faithful donors (and in this case, voters, as well) that support this local Food Bank.  We would not be here, serving about 200 people and 20 or more local agencies EACH DAY, without you!

Kendall Auto Alaska is doing a promotion that could win the Fairbanks Community Food Bank (and three other agencies) $5000.  That is vital for us this time of year when our regular donations are at their lowest point of the year. 

Taking just a minute a day and voting on the Kendall Auto Alaska Facebook page is all it takes to help us stay in the top four (the top 4 are the only positions funded).  This is the easiest way to earn $5000 we have ever had and we don't want to miss the opportunity.

As it stands this morning:

Boys and Girls Club has a whopping 232 votes

Make-A-Wish Foundation is a close second at 224 votes

We are a distant third with 113 votes

Autism Society is not too far behind us with 96 votes

United Way of the Tanana Valley is at 89 votes

Literacy Council is at 64 votes

Closely following them is the Special Olympics with 63 votes

RCPC comes in next with 48 votes

Breast Cancer Detection Center has 21 votes

And Rescue Mission has 17 votes

Only the top four will be funded.  Please go online today (and every day thru next Thursday, April 26th) and vote for the Fairbanks Community Food Bank!

(They only allow one vote per computer per 24 hours so if you vote at 4pm one day you have to wait until after 4pm the next day).

TO VOTE: You can use any of the links above OR

Log into your facebook page

Search for Kendall Auto Alaska

Click on the Red Smiley Face that says Kendall Cares - VOTE or scroll down till you see Kendall Cares - Choose Your Favorite Charity

Click Vote

Choose the Fairbanks Community Food Bank logo

Click VOTE

And for extra help for us, use their "Add a comment" link and add a comment to your own facebook page.

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/17/12, 10:10 PM

First 5 people to call 452-7761 will receive a FREE Empty Bowl

The first 5 people that call 452-7761 and say you saw this note will receive a FREE Empty Bowl.  You can come pick it up between 9am and 5pm Monday through Friday of THIS week.  (Pick up is here at that Food Bank at 725 26th Ave.)

For those that missed the sale, or just would like another beautiful bowl, we have a GREAT selection still for sale this week.  Please come in and make your purchase.

Thanks Fairbanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/16/12, 02:27 PM

Empty Bowls was a wonderful success AND WE HAVE MORE BOWLS

We had a great time today!  Many thanks to the Fairbanks Potters Guild and the hundreds of folks who came through here today!

Above is Kathy Seim, Annette Gerlitz, and Stan Zielinski preparing for the opening of the doors.

WE STILL HAVE BOWLS FOR SALE so if you missed today, please come in and look through the couple hundred that are left!

I will have more reflections in the upcoming days as we sort through the photos and memories, but as for today thank you Fairbanks!

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/14/12, 03:45 PM

Your vote counts! Help the Food Bank receive $5000 from Kendall Auto!

We are thankful to Kendall Auto for their contributions to this local community, and especially for choosing us as one of the organizations that can receive $5000 in their Kendall Cares campaign.

Kendall Auto is donating $5000 to 4 different organizations, but they will only give to the four organizations with the most votes. 

It took 1877 votes for the top organization in Anchorage.  So our goal, 2000 votes! 

Please click here (Kendall Auto Alaska) and vote for us once a day, every day.

Lost the link above?  That is OK:

• Log onto your Facebook account
• Go to Kendall Auto Alaska (the first time you will need to "LIKE" them)
• Click on their "Kendall Cares - Choose your favorite Charity link"
• Click "VOTE"
• Below the Food Bank logo click "VOTE"
• When the page opens click "VOTE" again

I put this in my Outlook calendar to remind me EVERY DAY to go onto Facebook and vote. 

We are at the lowest time of year for donations and every dollar is so important.  We are excited to have been selected as one of the organizations to vote on from Kendall Auto and we are so thankful that this community is so supportive.

Thank you Kendall Auto, and thank you Fairbanks!!!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/13/12, 09:55 AM

Empty Bowls NEXT Saturday, April 14th

My favorite event of the entire year is our Empty Bowls event.  My husband has threatened me with many things if I buy any more bowls, but then when I show him what we would be missing he always laughs and builds me another shelf, instead.

This is the event where the most celebrated and wonderful potters in Interior Alaska come together and donate OVER 1000 bowls to this Food Bank for sale.  Their work is exquisite and it is a delight to get to meet (because they always come and buy each other's bowls :) ) the fantastic artists of these marvelous bowls.

Many thanks to the Fairbanks Potter's Guild for their incredible donations and wonderful event.  Event details below:

Saturday April 14th, 11am - 2:00pm.  The silent auction will close at 1:30.  The event is held here, 725 26th Ave, at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.

And if you like their beautiful art, LIKE them on Facebook!

Looking forward to see each of you there!

Thanks!

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/06/12, 12:53 PM

Watershed 6th Graders Exeed Expectations

Last Friday the 6th graders at Watershed came in for a tour and a service project.  It was a great group of kids with thoughtful questions and a determination to serve!

Their time here started out with a tour of the facility and a talk about who we serve and why.  Then their tour ended in the USDA warehouse where they spent the next hour serving this community by packing boxes.

Pam, our USDA Warehouse Manager, set up 2 pallets of work for them to do (which would prepare food for 77 people) and in no time at all they were done with the first 2 pallets. 

A little while later Pam gave me a call and said: "Holy smokes - they have done 4 pallets of work - feeding 144 people AND they still have 20 minutes to spare!  Now they are doing excercises!  No wonder they are such good workers!"

It was a great joy to have these kids here learning about what we do, who we serve, and how they can help.  That is a highlight of my job!

On a fun side note, they were such a joy to be around that the next day Sam and Anne went to defend the FNSB Block Grant and as Anne was talking about the types of groups that come in to work and learn this 6th grade class was one of the first mentioned.

Many thanks to the students, teachers, and parents of these great kids, and all the great volunteers that come through here.  You are the backbone of this Food Bank!  We would not be here, serving almost 40,000 people a year, without you!

Thanks!

 

 

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/04/12, 04:01 PM

The Quota Club finds another way to share joy with our customers

Pictured above are Melissa Bidwell of Quota International of the Tanana Valley, Anne Weaver of the Food Bank, and Shawna Pritchette of the Quota International of the Tanana Valley.

Once again the Quota Club steps up to support our customers.  This time we received 50 cheery Easter bags filled with candy, toys, and Easter grass & plastic eggs to put in our Food Boxes. 

We have heard from customers in the past commenting on thoughtful "extras" like these Easter bags and the comments range from "Wow, even a little treat" to "That made me cry.  That absolutely made me cry.  This community is not only helping my family but they care enough to put in an extra touch to make my family's day better.  Thank you!"

Thank you, Quota Club, for your thoughtful gifts to our customers!

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 04/03/12, 07:12 PM