Sometimes Just Being There is Enough

You know, sometimes just treating someone down on their luck like you'd want to be treated is enough. Have you ever been at a stop light where there's a homeless person on the center divider and just rolled down your window and said "Good Luck and God Bless?" Have you shaken his hand?

These are things I try to do at least a few times a week. If you don't, that's okay. This blog isn't meant to be preachy or intended to make anyone feel guilty. We all have different comfort zones. And let's be real. Sometimes when you roll down your window to chat with a homeless person it doesn't go so well. While our ambitions as a disaster relief group are pretty grand in terms of scale (We just added two semi truck trailers to our five year operating plan), it's the little things on a local level that can make a big difference. It's five minutes of your life you could be using to make someone else's day just a little better.

From what I see on YouTube, Facebook and through the experiences of my children, it seems like the younger generation gets this. Where my parents would avoid someone who looks "dirty" camped out on the street, the younger folks seem to be more comfortable actually engaging them in conversation and making them feel acknowledged and relevant.

Here's a video I ran across that made me feel hopeful. What if we all did something like this just once during the holiday season?

Click here to play the video: https://www.facebook.com/keeptheheat/videos/10153661676802069/

You Will Surprise What Happen When The Homeless Man Ask Him Wa...

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San Francisco Charity Group Snapshot: Food Runners

What happens to all those muffins left over after that coffee break at the industry conference you were at? Where did all the extra bagels and fruit go after that charity fundraising run that ended on Crissy Field? What happens to hundreds of boxed lunches that don't get consumed during lunch meetings at Moscone Center trade shows? What do restaurants do with the food you don't eat?

Well, it turns out there's an app for that. Or, more accurately, a group of people that manage to get food from where it's no longer needed to where it is desperately needed. The group is called Food Runners.

While I've been ramping up It's Time to Help (sales plug: have you seen our new website?), I've been volunteering at local charities that are providing relief on a local level. Yesterday, I worked with Food Runners and will be rejoining their efforts later this week. This is a group that are masters at short-term logistics and manage to get volunteers with vehicles to charity events, restaurants, stores, conferences, tradeshows and other venues in San Francisco where more food is available than there are folks to eat it or buy it. If you've ever done event planning, then you know it's standard practice to have food left over at an event so you don't run short.

Food Runners takes this extra food and gets it to shelters and other organizations, such as Glide Memorial, that use their expertise and compassion to hand out the food to those in need. Food Runners relays more than 5,000 meals a day to those in need...food that would otherwise be thrown out.

If you are looking to spend some of your spare time to help others and you live in the San Francisco Bay area, this is a great way to get your feet wet in the volunteer scene. Not ready to build a house for Habitat for Humanity? That's okay. All you need is a vehicle and about an hour of your time and you can make a difference.

If you'd like to get involved, here's the contact information for their operations manager. The paperwork to get going is minimal and you can be out there as often as you'd like to be. There's pretty much something to do any day of the week. I've found this organization is good about letting you know what opportunities are out there to help without being high pressure about it. 

To learn more please contact

Nancy Haan
Operations Manager

Email: nancy@foodrunners.org
Food Donations: (415) 929-1866
Direct Line: (415) 292-4197

I'll keep exploring the local volunteer scene to let you know ways you can help while we ramp up ItsTimeToHelp.org. If you haven't already registered as a Time to Help volunteer, I definitely encourage you to do so, but the important thing is to get out there and do what you can with the time you can contribute.