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Beginning
with the small spark of an idea by two men, Bud Pasmore and Doug
Rae, the Walk and Knock
Food Drive recently completed its 24th year and is Clark County's
largest food drive.
Walk and Knock provides
a significant portion of the food
distributed by the nine-member Clark County Food Bank Coalition
each year.
Grocery bags are distributed throughout the county, and
local residents are asked to fill those bags with food and leave
them on their doorsteps the day of the food drive.
Volunteers go door-to-door to collect the bags and deliver the
food to one of ten-staging areas.
In its 24 year history, Walk and Knock has collected 5,695,018 lbs of food valued at
just over $7.4 million. All of
this accomplished by non-paid volunteers.
Keep in mind that this food drive happens only one day per year. Most
importantly,
it
all
stays
right
here
in
Clark
County!
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IT'S ALL ABOUT FEEDING THE HUNGRY
For 24 years, the Inter-Service Walk and
Knock Food Drive in Clark County, Washington has come to the aid of the
community. Every year on the
first Saturday in December, thousands of volunteers from all over the county
go walking and knocking, collecting non-perishable foods. In 2008 the
effort collected just over 141 tons of food and over $35,000 of
which 100% will be used to purchase additional food.
The
Walk and Knock Food Drive encompasses the entire Clark County area.
Volunteers come from local church groups, high school clubs, Boy Scouts,
Girl Scouts, Campfire, and several other organizations, as well as
hundreds of other individuals who answer the call for help.
Members
from local non-profit organizations and other community leaders head up
the various staging sites. Volunteers gather together Saturday morning and
begin their routes at 9am. By 4pm the
food laden trucks head to the Port of
Vancouver where space in a warehouse is
donated to store and sort the food. By the end of the
following week, the food is distributed out to the food banks where it is
needed.
This
project is like no other. It
brings the entire community together, helping those in need, and unity to all who volunteer.
Those who rely on the food banks often have to decide on which is more
important, paying the light bill or the rent, or using that same money to
put food in the mouths of their children. We may not be able to
solve this problem entirely, but together we have an opportunity to let
families put this decision off just a little bit longer. YOU
MAKE ALL OF THE DIFFERENCE!
OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE
To
solicit charitable donations of food, supplies and money, which in turn
are given to the food banks of Clark County
to be used for providing food to needy individuals within our community.
WHO ARE WE AND HOW ARE WE FUNDED
We are a registered 501c(3) Non-Profit organization. The
members of Walk and Knock are members of local Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary,
Optimist, and Sertoma clubs, members of the Clark County Amateur Radio
Club, and adult leaders of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.
Its members fund Walk and Knock by donating an annual fee of $200
per organization. This pays for items such as insurance, postage and
stationery, and other items as required by law. Most of the needed
supplies and services are donated, and advertising is paid for by
corporate and private sponsors.
No public funds are ever used for any thing other than for the
purchase of food. Walk
and Knock is 100% v
privately
funded,
a claim that very few charitable organizations can make.
HOW TO CONTACT US
InterService Walk and Knock
Joe Pauletto, President
PO Box 353
Vancouver, WA 98666
Telephone 877-99-KNOCK (877-995-6625)
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