Philanthropy is a worthwhile endeavor no matter what time of year it is or what the cause may be. The act of giving of oneself--whether it is time, energy, and/or money-- is an admirable thing for people to do. One self storage manager in California is doing her best to make sure her first endeavor is a great one.
Barbie Sansom, the manager of Sunset Self Storage in Winton, California, has kicked off an ambitious food drive this holiday season. She is looking to fill a an entire moving truck, 669 square feet of space, with food to go to an emergency food shelter in the community, the Emergency Food Pantry in North Merced.
"This is my first attempt at philanthropy," Sansom said. "I set the bar high, and we'll see if we can pull it off. No idea is a bad idea when it comes to giving back to the community."
So far the drive is not off to a great start, but there is still plenty of time for the people in the community to pull through for a great cause. The truck Sansom’s using has been donated free of charge up until December 21.
There have been some challenges when it comes to promoting the food drive so far. Fliers have been handed out, some local businesses have pledged to help, and Sansom has taken to Facebook to spread the word. She has even offered free rent to those who give ‘sizable’ donations.
"It's a small action that can do a lot of good," Chris Sansom, the co-manager of Sunset Self Storage, said. "People need to give all year-long. People are hungry every day. A can (of food) would be great; a bag would be better."
Penny Gallegos is the volunteer manager at the Emergency Food Pantry and is grateful to have the help from Sunset Self Storage. The pantry is a little different from the usual food pantry. It specializes in helping people with emergency food needs like when they lose everything after a fire, natural disaster, homelessness, or loss of job.
Even though the start has been slow, Sansom has not wavered in her confidence that the end goal of filling the truck will be reached.
"We ourselves have been in a situation when we were younger when we had to rely on assistance from food charities. We know what it means to be helped by an organization like this.”
Sources Used:
“Emergency food drive sets bar high.” Merced Sun-Star; 14 December 2011.
“Merced County food pantries in greater need of help.” Merced Sun-Star; 07 December 2011.