I am genuinely excited about an upcoming event

You have all seen me splash multiple blogs up about the upcoming "Time to Give" event but what you might not be able to "read between the lines" as the saying goes, is how genuinely excited I am about this event and why.

First, this event represents who we serve and who serves us.  Second, it is chalked full of some really exciting donations that the folks who attend will benefit from.

How does it represent who we serve and who serves us?  We will have 7 raffles taking place during the night.

• Wall of Bowls 
  • Focuses on the 46,000 different people we served in the last year.  It is a wall of our Empty Bowls (created by local potters) and reminds us that in Fairbanks and North Pole we can help fill those empty bowls.
  • The prize – a beautifully handmade bowl from a local potter (sponsored by the Fairbanks Potter’s Guild)

•   Sock Raffle
  • Focuses on the 20,000 hours donated last year. 
  • The prize, as a thank you for your time well spent, is a trip for two....  (Couple options available… hate to ruin the surprise)
• Captain Drumstick Raffle
  • Almost ½ of the people that we serve are local children
  • 1/3 of our volunteers are local students
  • And even financially, children support us (like Paige and the Dixon children, and their Lemonade Stands)
  • The prize is some nice new children’s furniture (sponsored by Cribs, Cradles, and Things)
• Knife Raffle
  • Serving as many people as we serve takes a great deal of food.  Last year alone we received almost 2,000,000 pounds of food!!  Our food donors, whether it is a can of corn, box of cereal, fresh veggies and fruits from the garden, powdered milk, or harvested game meet, keep us feed.
  • The prize is a 5 day Outfitted Kodiak Deer hunt for 2 people (resident hunters only) – sponsored by Alaska Adventures Unlimited

•   Rice Raffle
  • Focuses on having a sustainable community.  We recycle local food and partner with over 100 different agencies to serve our customers.  It also focuses on being sustainable at home by creating your own foods.
  • We are preselling these tickets - call 452-7761 (Annette) and purchase a ticket for $20 (only 100 will be sold)
  • The prize is a Nutramill Grinder, AND a Bosch Mixer w/ Blender, AND a Filter Pro Dehydrator, AND 5# of Prairie Gold Grain, AND a free Bread Class offered by (and sponsored by) Sourdough Girls Coop
• Cupcake Raffle
  • Focuses on donors who support us, we wish to support.  Wildrose Cupcakes donates their leftover cupcakes to us and we want to say thank you to those that support us.
  • The prize (other than the best cupcake you have ever eaten) is a Wilton Cupcake Stand
• Wall of Guns
  • Many of the folks who donate to us, and many of the folks we serve, are military.
  • The prize – a gun of your choice (sponsored by Alaskan Guns and Ammo).

And not only will we be having these 7 raffles, but our donors for the Silent & Outcry Auctions are really stepping up:

• Nenana Lumber Company donated 3 men for 8 hours of labor
• A $600 package from Arbonne
• Fairbanks Chiropractic donated some free adjustments
• Folks are making handmade children’s clothing
• Fairbanks Clean Pro is giving $200 worth of services

This is just a sampling of the items that are coming in. 

This will truly be a fun night for everyone!  If you would like to join us, please purchase a dinner ticket and come ready to support local!

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/27/12, 01:32 PM

"...I helped make his day better" - finding a neighbor in need

Thoughts from an unnamed staff member:

"One of the things about working at the Fairbanks Community Food Bank is you never know if the person you are talking to is a donor or a recipient.  And many times what you discover is that they are both - they were once a recipient and now they are a donor (or vice-a-versa).

Driving by my neighbor's house the other day, my husband glanced over and saw a CSFP box in the front seat of his car.  It really made us stop and think.  I know that this neighbor works, and I know that he lives frugally, and now I know that I have had the joy of serving him.  It really warmed my heart.  He hasn't always been the friendliest of neighbors so being able to serve him in this way really gave me great joy - I helped make his day better.  I have to confess, that made my day better, too, knowing that I brought a little bit of peace to his home."

Thank you, Fairbanks, for your continued support.  Our staff here really loves what we do and we really care for our customers.  Thank you for giving us the ability to discover neighbors in need!

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/26/12, 02:31 PM

Esther Hackney (1927-2012) Obituary from the Daily News Miner

Esther Louise Hackney departed this life for a heavenly calling July 18, 2012, with her husband of more than 65 years at her side.

A memorial service for Esther will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 26, 2012, at First Presbyterian Church, at Seventh Avenue and Cushman Street. A reception will follow at the church in the fellowship hall.

Esther was born Feb.16, 1927, eldest of three daughters to Marcus (Mark) and Julie Evans in Johnson City, N.Y.

She grew up in Greene, N.Y., where Mark farmed and Julia taught school. She received a home economics scholarship to Cornell University. There she met Glenn Hackney. Love trumped learning, and both left Cornell to be married Dec. 8, 1946.
Esther worked for L.C. Smith, the typewriter giant, and Glenn for a retail lumber company. In 1947, the couple, with Glenn's brother and his wife, heard beguiling stories of Alaska spun by a visiting teacher.

So in 1948, the couples moved to Anchorage to start new lives of adventure. Esther started work in the Alaska Railroad Commissary.

Son, Glenn Alan was born in 1949, and son, Arthur James in 1951, in Anchorage. Hunting, fishing, camping and scouting were family affairs.
The family moved to Fairbanks in 1962 when Glenn became manager of the Alaska Concrete Products branch plant. Active in church life at "1st Pres," Esther met Mable Rasmussen, founder of Presbyterian Hospitality House and something clicked. Esther became Mable's secretary and confidant, an association that continued for many years.

Esther was a hand knitter and turned out hundreds of pieces of knitwear. She enjoyed teaching knitting classes and the discipline knitting brought to otherwise idle hands.

When Glenn became active in politics, Esther always went with him to Juneau where those knitting fingers often were in motion as legislative business droned on. She often typed "freebie" letters in those penny-pinching sessions.

Esther was widely known for her devotion to her God, her family and her community. She was always ready to help others with prayer, gentle words of encouragement or hands-on help if necessary.

Esther was pre-deceased by her parents and sisters, Phyllis and Virginia.
She is survived by her husband, Glenn; son, Glenn Alan and wife Kate; son, Arthur James and wife April; granddaughter, Mary and companion Peg; great-granddaughter, Aurora, and great-grandson Max; granddaughter, Heather; granddaughter, Alexis and husband Jake Moyer, and great-grandson James; nieces, Pamela Ivie and Darcie Harris; nephews, Mark and Steve Ivie and families; nephew, David Hackney and wife Ginger; niece, Jane Sellen and families.
Esther loved to travel to New Zealand, Australia, Israel and England, but nowhere more fondly than to Hawaii. Glenn and Esther became like family at the Affordable Hawaii B&B. Bill and Maria Wilson and the Finn family always filled their vacations with aloha memories.

Esther Louise Hackney lived a long and productive life, not without heartache along the trail, but always with dignity and grace. She loved unreservedly, and her memory will linger in the lives of those she touched.

The family requests that instead of flowers, a donation might be considered in Esther's name to First Presbyterian Memorial Fund, the Fairbanks Community Food Bank or the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra.

Published in Daily News-Miner on July 25, 2012

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/25/12, 11:55 AM

The sponsor list grows for our Time to Give banquet

We were having a meeting when Marisa with Flint Hills arrived to drop off their Time to Give banquet sponsorhip.  It is rare that I am able to catch our Fairbanks Community Food Bank Executive Committee to take a THANK YOU photo!

Pictured above are Karen Kiss (Food Bank Board Treasurer), Mike Walsh (Food Bank Board President), Marisa Sharrah (Public Affairs for Flint Hills), Brad Johnson (Food Bank Board Vice President), Hollis Hall (Food Bank Board Secretary). 

Many thanks to the sponsors that have already confirmed:

BP

Conoco Phillips

Exxon Mobil

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital

Flint Hills

MAC Federal Credit Union

Odom Corporation

Princess Tours

Slayden Plumbing

We are also excited about the great donations we have received.  The raffles and the auctions have some FANTASTIC items!  I will write more about that excitment later!

To purchase your dinner ticket, click here.

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/23/12, 10:15 AM

Thank you Brandi Carlile and all the folks at her concert last night!

We were excited to be invited to Brandi Carlile's concert last night at the Hering Auditorium.  It was a fantastic concert! 

Pictured above are Catherine Shepherd (Executive Director of Looking Out Foundation www.lookingoutfoundation.com), Barbara Parker with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, Brandi Carlile (Founder and Artist of Looking Out Foundation), and Butch Stein with the Fairbanks Community Food Bank.   

Special thanks to Brandi Carlile for featuring us, multiple times, during her concert.  We were honored by both her words and by the outpouring of community support during and after the concert.

Thank you Brandi, and thank you Fairbanks, for your support of this local Fairbanks Community Food Bank!

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/20/12, 05:10 PM

In Memory of Esther Hackney

At about 3pm July 18th Esther Hackney quietly breathed her last breath with Glenn standing by her side, as always.  We will greatly miss her!

Glenn has requested donations to the Fairbanks Community Food Bank in lieu of flowers.  Please click here to make a donation in memory of Esther.

Thank you!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/19/12, 05:28 PM

A beautiful note from a first time customer

We received a beautiful email from a first time customer recently.  It has been slightly modified to keep her identity anonymous, but otherwise, below is her note.

"I just wanted to tell you how very happy I was with the boxes of food I picked up from Fairhill Community Church on Friday.

I was so impressed with the amount and assortment of vegetables and fruits in the boxes!  There was even some coconut milk available.  It was so good to see alternative products being put out there as well, as I don't drink milk.

Though I was feeling sad and humiliated walking in to pick up the boxes, the folks at the church were very pleasant and upbeat and helped make the experience a good one, I had a smile the rest of the day because of these folks and the good food provided by the food bank. 

I wanted to let you know that your efforts are appreciated!"

Thank you!  And thank you to Fairhill Community Church - you have served the people of this community, and this Fairbanks Community Food Bank, wonderfully for MANY years!

On the Friday that she is talking about we did have an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and even some coconut milk - but we don't always.  We rely on this community for the food (we don't purchase food) and therefore we can only give out what we receive.  Some days our fruits and veggies are low and some days we don't have alternative products, but many days, thanks to Fairbank's support, we have treats of some sort that we can put in the boxes.

Thank you, Fairbanks, for your 30 years of food, volunteer, and financial support!  YOU, Fairbanks, made this gal's day better.  We are very proud to be a part of such a sharing and caring community.

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/10/12, 10:38 AM

St. Raphael's Vacation Bible School supports our customers

Food from the Fairbanks Community Food Bank isn't the only way we like to support our customers.  We also love it when children show their support through notes to place in the food boxes, as well, demonstrating how much we, as a community, care for those we serve.

St. Raphael's Catholic Church had their Vacation Bible School a few weeks back and children from all ages created wonderful cards for us to share.

Many thanks to the children at St. Raphael's Catholic Church.  I know you made someone smile with your thoughtfulness - someone who needed to smile!

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/06/12, 08:44 PM

Remember voting for Kendall Cares in April...

Many thanks, again, to the Fairbanks community and to Kendall Auto and Toyota Motors.  We have now received the $5000 from the votes in April!  What a gift to this local Fairbanks Community Food Bank!

Pictured above are Anne Weaver (Fairbanks Community Food Bank), Dave Shuttleworth (Kendall Auto) - holding Boys & Girls Club's check, a recipient from the Make a Wish group, and also Autism Society of Alaska.

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/06/12, 08:28 PM

TIME TO GIVE fundraising banquet date change - October 5th!

We had a surprise date change for our

but everything is still on track.

Please join us October 5th (Friday) for a wonderful evening of great food, great fun, and great fundraising!!

You can purchase your tickets online or call 45-SHARE.

Thanks!

Posted by Anne Weaver - 07/06/12, 06:58 PM