Second Harvest Column - 03/19/2007

By Lois Rockhill

We Can Care! The fifth annual Madison County Food Drive is off to a great start and if Greg Graham has his way, every business, every club, every school, every church, and every organization in the county will be involved before the wrap up on March 29th!Greg Graham works for the City of Anderson as Homeless Administrator in the Department of Community Development and Long Range Planning. That's pretty cool in itself that Anderson has a staff position with a focus on homelessness. Greg expands that responsibility to address hunger during this month-long, community-wide campaign and he takes it very seriously as the driver behind the event.
Five years ago We Can Care kicked off when Second Harvest Food Bank was low on inventory and area pantries were challenged to find enough food to keep their shelves full. From the beginning, the drive has focused on both food collections and fund drives. The food goes to pantries at no cost to them and the funds underwrite Second Harvest's outlay in distributing donated food already at the warehouse - providing even more food to Madison County charities at no cost to them.
In 2003, Greg was sitting in a meeting of the Madison County Homeless Task Force when Tony Hall from Salvation Army brought up the challenge their pantry was having getting enough food for people coming to their doors. Greg is a man of action and having heard the need, decided to do something about it. Becky Shroyer, Madison County United Way director of labor participation, stepped up to help and We Can Care was born. In the last four years, more than 500,000 pounds of food has been leveraged through We Can Care for hunger relief in Madison County. This year will add at least another 100,000 pounds.
At the kick-off last month, Dr. Ron Duncan with Church of God Ministries presented a check for $3,500 leveraging 21,875 pounds of food. Rick Muir with the Anderson Federation of Teachers pledged $500 to leverage 3,125 pounds. Key Bank promised a gift for everyone who brings a donation to their locations, Pay Less Super Markets announced that customers will have pre-bagged bags of food to purchase, and the City of Anderson announced a Potato Luncheon March 16th at City Hall to help raise funds for food. We have taken collection boxes and coin jugs to public and private schools throughout the county and have more available for any group wishing to participate.
We Can Care lives up to its name. Coming after the holidays, after cold weather and high heating bills, the event offers the opportunity to show our compassion for those among us whose circumstances are dire. We Can Care brings hope to children, parents, seniors, the ill and disenfranchised. This expression of care coming from all corners of our county lifts the burden from the hearts of moms and dads who are painfully aware that they simply do not have the resources to make ends meet.
For those of us working day in and day out at Second Harvest Food Bank and those of us working year around at pantries and charitable programs, We Can Care underlines the fact that we are not alone. The participation of the community is uplifting. When others step up to the plate, we are energized by the team effort. We witness your care for those in need and suddenly the weight of this great responsibility is carried by many.
I thank Greg Graham, Becky Shroyer, our team here at Second Harvest, and the many, many of you already involved in this year's We Can Care. Your support does make a difference. People who didn't know how they were going to feed their families, will have food on the table. If you are not involved, we encourage you to make a contribution or organize a supporting event. Let's get those "Colt's blue" We Can Care signs up in every window and do all that we can to make this a record year!  We can help you help others. Give Tiffany Jones a call at Second Harvest at 649-0292 or phone Greg Graham at 648-6106 to register your participation.

Lois Rockhill is Executive Director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana, Inc.

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