MARYSVILLE — Windermere Real Estate in Marysville is soliciting donations of food and dollars again this October, as part of their ongoing efforts to bolster the work of the Marysville Community Food Bank.
Connie Redden, who’s coordinating the food drive with fellow Marysville Windermere employee Larry Peterson, reported that they’d already raised approximately 320 pounds of food and $305 in financial donations as of Thursday, Oct. 10, even as she emphasized that more is always needed.
“We’re also contributing a little bit from each of our closings, from $25 to $100 each,” Redden said. “We’re even matching the donations that each of us collects personally.”
Although previous donation drive totals have ranged from 17,000-28,000 pounds of food, Redden thinks it’s perfectly realistic to set a goal of collecting as much as 100,000 pounds of food this year.
“We have an amazing group of people in this office, who are ready and willing to help and get out there in the community,” Redden said. “We know how important it is to give back, and we’ve seen people give to our food drive that we didn’t expect to give. During one of our food drives at the Marysville Haggen, one lady was in a hurry and just grabbed our flier as she ran in the store, but she came out with all sorts of food, because she’d known people who have relied on food bank services, so she decided that she needed to take the time to shop for them.”
Redden herself has known people who have needed to use food banks, and she’s hardly alone, even within the Marysville Windermere offices where a show of hands at a recent meeting confirmed that roughly a third of the staff have had friends or family members who have relied upon food bank services.
“The real number is probably even more than that,” Redden said. “People who are forced to rely on food banks can be embarrassed to admit it, but they shouldn’t be. It’s been a tough few years.”
Redden is quick to cite the figure that $1 can buy two meals for someone, when donated to a food bank, and pointed out to community members how small a sacrifice this is, when weighed against its potential positive impact.
“I’d challenge everyone to contribute something, whether it’s a little or a lot,” Redden said. “If you can go without something simple, like lattes for a day, or a week, or not going to your favorite watering hole for a night, or even foregoing a family movie night in the theaters, which can run you up to $50 with popcorn and drinks, then you’d have so much left to contribute.”
Redden listed canned tuna, salmon and chicken, as well as chili, canned vegetables, granola and baby food, among the more sought-after items of the Marysville Community Food Bank.
“About half of the Food Bank’s customers are seniors and children,” Redden said. “These are kids in working families, and people’s parents living on fixed incomes. I hope we can spread the word enough about their needs to touch the community’s hearts.”
Donations can be dropped off at Windermere Real Estate, located at 801 State Ave. in Marysville, throughout the month of October, or at the Marysville Haggen, located at 3711 88th St. NE, from Thursday, Oct. 24, through Saturday, Oct. 26.
For more information, contact Redden by phone at 425-750-2393 or via email at connie@windermere.com.
