Lend a hand to those in your community who are struggling by organizing a Food Bank Drive! This is an easy, powerful way for you to help! There are two way to collect donations: neighborhood canvas or stationary collection point.
Register your chapter below for this activity
NEIGHBORHOOD CANVAS - TWO DAY PROJECT
The neighborhood canvas is fun and easy to do. You can repeat it by targeting different neighborhoods. On Bag Drop-Off Day, your volunteers deliver paper grocery bags to homes in a targeted neighborhood. Attached to each bag is a flyer encouraging homeowners to place non-perishable items in the bag for the needy in their community. Your volunteers return to that same neighborhood on Bag Collection Day to collect any bags put out by homeowners.
| Prep Time | 2-4 hours |
| Event Time | 4-6 hours |
| Supplies | Grocery bags, flyers, post-it notes |
| Estimated Cost | Approximately $50 |
PLAN AND PREP
| Decide which food bank in your community will receive your donations. |
| Inform the food bank of your plans and ask for their input and advice. They will be very appreciative of your chapter’s efforts. Make arrangements to deliver your donations on Bag Collection Day if possible. You may need to deliver them at a later date if the pantry is not open |
| Choose neighborhoods to target for collection. You will want to pick areas where you feel safe and which will welcome this charitable activity. You may also want to select neighborhoods where the homes are close together so you can cover as much ground as possible! |
| Volunteers should never be alone in a neighborhood. Plan for them to work in teams of two or more. |
| Select dates for Bag Drop-Off and Bag Collection Day. We recommend Bag Drop-Off on a Wednesday or Thursday (although a Saturday will work), followed by Bag Collection Day on the following Saturday. |
| Check the check extended forecast when selecting a date. |
| Recruit others to join your project! Contact your state chairs for possible participation and/or names of other volunteers in your area. |
| Contact a local grocery store to see if they will donate bags. If they will not provide them, most stores will sell them for a few cents per bag |
| Prepare a flyer to attach to the grocery bag. Click here for a template. Print/copy the flyer on bright paper (yellow, orange or pink). |
| Plan a work session to staple your flyers to the bags. |
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Prepare “thank you” post-it notes. Just write “Thank you for your donation” and add your chapter name and email address. These will be placed on the doors of donors on Bag Collection Day. |
PROMOTE
| Spread the word about your chapter’s project to friends, family, church members, tea party groups, homeschooling groups, local GOP and veterans, neighbors and anyone else you think might like to lend a hand. Share via email, Facebook and personal phone calls. |
| Keep track of your volunteer signups so you can send reminders by phone or email about your work session, Bag Drop-Off Day and Bag Collection Day. |
BAG DROP-OFF DAY
| Plan a meeting place for your volunteers. This can be at the neighborhood entrance, someone’s home (have refreshments) or a local restaurant. |
| Ask volunteers to sign in. Click here for a sign-in sheet. |
| Go over a few safety guidelines and instructions |
| Tell your volunteers to place the bag on the porch where the homeowner will likely see it. Be respectful of the homeowner’s property rights. Stay on the sidewalk or driveway. Do not cut across grass or flower beds. Do not knock on the door. If a homeowner engages you, just take a few minutes to explain what you’re doing and ask for their help. If you encounter resistance, simply apologize and leave the property. You are representing Patriot Voices -- so be friendly! |
| Have fun and take lots of pictures to post on Facebook and Twitter (use @Patriot_Voices and #pvfooddrive)! |
| Send us an email report with photos: [email protected] |
BAG COLLECTION DAY
| Plan a meeting place for your volunteers. This can be at the neighborhood entrance, at someone’s home (have drinks and snacks) or a local restaurant. |
| Ask everyone to sign in. Click here for a sign-in sheet. |
| Go over a few simple safety guidelines and instructions. |
| Start collecting! Canvass the neighborhood where you left your bags. Consider leaving a “thank you” post-it note on the doors of donors. These will need to be prepared ahead of time. |
| Do not knock on doors and ask for donations. If a homeowner engages you, just take a few minutes to explain what you’re doing. If you encounter resistance, simply apologize and leave the property. Remember you are representing Patriot Voices so we want to be friendly! |
| After you are all done collecting bags, deliver all donations to your local food bank. Be sure and let them know ahead of time when you will be making your delivery. |
| Have fun and take lots of pictures to post on Facebook and Twitter (use #pvfooddrive and @Patriot_Voices)! Encourage all of your chapter members to take photos, but make sure you have a designated “photographer” so that you end up with good shots for social media and to email to our national team. |
FOLLOW-UP
| Send us an email report with photos: [email protected] |
| Thank everyone who participated – a follow-up phone call or email is a great idea! |
| To help promote your chapter, send one of your event photos to your local newspaper. |
| If your project attracts new people who are not yet members, ask them to join your chapter! |
| Encourage everyone to visit www.patriotvoices.com and sign up for email updates. |
| Ask folks to get connected on our social networking channels |
| Add your members/volunteers to our network using this grassroots tool. <link> |
COLLECTION POINT – ONE DAY PROJECT
For this project, you will select a stationary collection point and have people bring their donations to you.
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Event Time | 2 -4 hours |
| Supplies | Fliers, signs, containers |
| Estimated Cost | $25-50 |
PLAN AND PREP
| Decide which food bank in your community will receive your donations. |
| Inform the food bank of your plans and ask for their input and advice. They will appreciate your chapter’s efforts. Make arrangements to deliver your donations after your drive. You may need to deliver them at a later date if the bank is not open. |
| Choose a collection point – recruit a partner. Suggestion: local grocery store or business, farmer’s market, school, library, radio/TV station. |
| Select a date. Saturday works best. |
| Weather probably won’t affect your project, but you may want to check extended forecast when selecting a date. |
| Recruit others to join your project |
| Prepare signage. Click here for a Patriot Voices sign. |
| Prepare a schedule for volunteers on collection day and distribute it to everyone (schedule at least two people at all times). |
| Plan your collection site set-up. A pick-up truck is a great idea – it’s highly visible, easy to decorate and folks can drop their donations right in! If that’s not an option you will need several containers/bags. Be sure and use Patriot Voices signs so that your donors can see what your chapter is involved in. Click here for a sign download. |
| Plan to have a flier about Patriot Voices and your chapter to hand to folks as they drop off donations - click here for an example. A signup sheet is a great idea too. |
PROMOTE
| Spread the word about your chapter’s food drive to friends, family, church members, tea party groups, homeschooling groups, local GOP and veterans, neighbors and anyone else you think might like to lend a hand. Share via email and personal phone calls. |
| Create a Facebook event and invite all who live in your area. |
| Keep track of your volunteer signups so you can send reminders by phone or email about your work session, Bag Drop-Off Day and Bag Collection Day. |
| Check with your local news outlets to see if they will cover your event. |
COLLECTION DAY
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| As your volunteers arrive, ask them to sign in. Click here for a sign-in sheet | |
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| Have fun and take lots of pictures to post on Facebook and Twitter (use @Patriot_Voices and #pvfooddrive)! Encourage all of your chapter members to take photos, but make sure you have a designated “photographer” so that you end up with good shots for social media and to email to our national team. | |
| After you’re finished, deliver your food to your local food bank. Be sure and let them know ahead of time when you will be making your delivery. |
FOLLOW-UP
| Send us an email report with photos: [email protected] |
| Thank everyone who participated – a follow-up phone call or email is a great idea! |
| To help promote your chapter, send one of your event photos to your local newspaper |
| If your project attracts new people who are not yet members, ask them to join your chapter |
| Encourage everyone to visit www.patriotvoices.com and sign up for email updates. |
| Ask folks to get connected on our social networking channels. |
| Add your members/volunteers to our network using this grassroots tool. <link> |
Add your name below to register your chapter for this activity and a staff member will contact you soon. You must agree to donate all items collected to your local food bank and/or other organizations with similar missions to help those in need in your community.
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