On the first Saturday of every December, thousands of volunteers go walking and knocking, collecting nearly 130-tons of non-perishable foods for the food banks of Clark County, as part of the InterService Walk and Knock Food Drive. This event stocks the shelves of local food banks through early spring. Approximately 22,000 individuals are served by the Clark County food banks each month.
In the 22 completed years, the event has collected an accumulated 5.1 million pounds of food, valued at $6.5 million. This has been collected by non-paid volunteers. Annual volunteer counts for the single day event average 4,800 individuals. Walk and Knock is truly a community supported event.
The event is planned, organized and executed by local Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, Optimist, and Sertoma clubs, with communication provided by the Clark County Amateur Radio Club, and primary advertising delivered via select local newspapers. Many local businesses provide the use of their premises as staging points on the day of the food drive, as well as providing some of the non-vital supplies and services used in the planning and preparation.
This year, event sponsors include The Columbian, Riverview Community Bank, US Bank, Columbia Credit Union, Fred Meyer, Weyerhaeuser, Les Schwab, British Petroleum, Aho Construction, YMCA, the Southwest Washington Blood Program and Columbia Resource Co.
There are several ways that the local business community can provide assistance to Walk and Knock and other organizations like it.
• Require, encourage and financially support employees to join and participate in the community service work of local service organizations;
• Offer direct or in-kind shared advertising space in local radio and TV spots for this and other events like it;
• Provide direct funding to Walk and Knock and the local food banks. These organizations are generally volunteer-run, have little or no overhead, and nearly all of the financial support given is applied directly to the fill the need that these organizations exist to fill;
• Promote worthwhile events like Walk and Knock, and encourage team members to participate.
Walk and Knock has become a vital food source to the local food banks, providing relief at a time when most food banks have empty shelves. But considering how important this event is to those who depend upon the results, it has become increasingly difficult to secure on-going leadership and financial support from local business. There are many businesses that step forward to help each year, but it has become increasingly difficult to convince others that the intangible benefit to the community is worth the investment.
I applaud the Vancouver business community, as a whole, for the continued support that is given to the needy within Clark County. Yet I encourage you to become more aware of and involved with the organizations that are on the ground, working directly for and with the people in our community who must depend upon others for their needs. The future success of many families is within reach of your ability to make a difference.
For more information, visit www.walkandknock.org or call 877-99-KNOCK.
