The need is growing... We are seeing more clients at the Food Bank... Please donate to Good Cheer Food Bank via the Paypal link below.

Good Cheer is committed to creating a hunger-free community on South Whidbey Island.
Good Cheer is South Whidbey's first community charity and has been helping people since 1962.

Good Cheer is the only food bank on South Whidbey, which has a population of nearly 15,000 people. The agency is currently run by 12 staff members and 220 volunteers. It is overseen by a 15-member elected Board of Directors representing our diverse community. Board members hold office for 3 years.

Good Cheer is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization funded from three separate sources: income from its two thrift stores and clothing boutique, community donations, and a few small state grants. Good Cheer Thrift Store proceeds are generated by selling locally donated quality, still-usable clothing, shoes, housewares, books, furniture and appliances at its two South Whidbey Thrift Stores in Langley and Clinton.

Monetary donations to Good Cheer are tax-deductible and very much appreciated year-round. Checks may be mailed to Good Cheer Food Bank / PO Box 144 / Langley, WA 98260.

Hunger Needs In Our Community
In 2007, Good Cheer assisted 2,780 individuals, (including 1,012 children) or 18 percent percent of the population of South Whidbey. Even so, we are certain that we are not reaching a large number of residents experiencing food insecurity.

Due to the high cost of living on South Whidbey and low island wages, we find that we are serving many families where either one or both parents are employed, in other words, the working poor. Increased fuel costs and higher prices are squeezing more and more lower income families, seniors on fixed incomes, and the disabled on fixed incomes. We are seeing an increase in the number of people accessing the food bank and expect to top 3,000 clients in 2008.

GOOD CHEER NEWS:

Thank You South Whidbey Windermere Real Estate Offices!
Can a group make a difference? You bet they can... and they did!

On Friday, June 20, Good Cheer Food Bank was bustling with about 30 volunteers from South Whidbey's Windermere Real Estate offices who chose our Bayview facility as the beneficiary of their annual Windermere Community Service Day.

The side street was packed with cars as volunteers cleared the side and back parking lot of Scotch broom, installed and painted barriers around the propane tank, cleared the side yard of blackberry vines, cleaned picnic tables, pressure washed the sidewalks, weeded flowerbeds, made a big dent in processing thrift store item donations, repackaged bulk foods, restocked food bank shelves, restocked the walk-in refrigerator and freezer, and straightened the food bank storage area.  Whew! THANK YOU WINDEREMERE VOLUNTEERS!

If your business, service organization, or church group would like to volunteer, please contact Operations Manager Rita Burns at 221-4868. Many hands make a huge difference!

-----------------------------------------

Community Food Drive Competition Is Off To A Good Start: Freeland Food Drive Is July 3

Just over 1,000 pounds of food was donated by the Clinton community on May 24 as part of the Clinton Progresive Hall's Mayfest 2008 celebration.

Good Cheer is holding a friendly competition between South Whidbey communities this summer to see which one will donate the most food.

Good Cheer Executive Director Kathy McLaughlin and Operations Manager Rita Burns dressed as soup cans in order to put a little festivity into the collection process.

The Freeland Community Food Drive will take place on July 3 at the Celebrate America event in Freeland Park. Food donation barrels and trucks will be available in the PayLess Foods shopping center parking lot near the fireworks display, inside PayLess Foods, and at Freeland Park beginning at 10 a.m.

The Bayview Food Drive will take place in August, and Langley's will be held in September. A renewed emphasis is being placed on food drives this year to help meet increased client demand and rising food costs.

------------------------------------------------

Good Cheer Food Bucks Back At Bayview Farmers' Market; Vouchers Redeemable in July

Shoppers at Saturdays' Bayview Farmers’ Market will be able to donate $5 market vouchers to South Whidbey families in need via Good Cheer’s Food Bucks program.

The $5 vouchers will be made provided to Good Cheer Food Bank clients for use in July at the Bayview market to purchase fresh, organic produce and food items. (Clients who come to the food bank Saturday morning will be given a Food Bucks voucher while supplies last.)

Donations can be made at the Good Cheer information table at the market, or at participating vendors displaying donation signs.

The program was begun last year by local resident Carolyn Tamler, who views it as a win-win-win situation because donors know they are helping people in need; food bank clients can receive additional produce; and market farmers and vendors benefit from additional business.

------------------------------------------------

Capital Campaign Receives Grants From the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Glaser Foundation

The capital campaign thermometer in front of Good Cheer’s Food Bank and Item Donation Center in Bayview took a significant jump recently with the announcement of a $100,000 challenge grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a $25,000 grant from The Glaser Foundation, bringing the total to $918,000 of our $1.4 million goal.

News of the grants came shortly after the death of Dick Collins, a well-known consultant in nonprofit fund-raising, who designed Good Cheer’s capital campaign.

“Dick was an amazing leader who fought a brave fight against cancer,” said Campaign Co-chairman Bob Olson. “He cared deeply about Good Cheer and wanted to see this campaign through to the end. Our team wants to complete this campaign as a tribute to Dick, as well of course, to enable the food bank to meet growing food needs on South Whidbey well into the future,” he said.  

Phase One of the campaign involved the purchase and relocation of the food bank from its cramped quarters at the back of the charity’s Langley Thrift Store, to a stand-alone building (formerly the Masonic Lodge) in Bayview last October.

The move came just in time to help families deal with layoffs at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, and though many workers were hired back, other South Whidbey families have taken their place and the number of clients keeps on growing. “With ever-higher fuel and food prices, more lower-income working families are feeling the squeeze and turning to the food bank for help,” said Kathy McLaughlin, help meet increased client demand and rising food costs.

------------------------------------------------

Community Demonstration Garden Project Yields Produce for the Food Bank; Volunteers Needed

The Community Demonstration Garden project is producing results at Langley Middle School. Volunteers are always welcome. To find out more about this project which grows fresh produce for Good Cheer, visit the garden's Blog site at http://lmscommunitygarden.wordpress.com

School and community partners have come together to create a school/community garden whose crops are provided to Good Cheer Food Bank. Students have been working in the garden all Spring - and are delivering produce on a weekly basis to Good Cheer. With summer coming, they are in need of some additional help to keep the garden water and produced delivered to Good Cheer during the summer months.

They are looking for people to commit to a weeklong period for either watering or harvesting (or both!). Watering would be three times a week, and takes about 20-30 minutes. Harvesting would be once a week, and they could use more than one person for those. They will also need someone able to take the harvest to Good Cheer at Bayview.

------------------------------------------------------

Help Available On First and Third Tuesday Mornings To Help Clients Sign Up For Food Stamps

A client services coordinator from the Opportunity Council is available at Good Cheer Food Bank in Bayview to help people sign up for food stamps through the Basic Food Program from 9 a.m. to noon the first and third Tuesday of every month. Appointments can be scheduled in advance by calling Good Cheer’s Operations Manager, Rita Burns, at 221-4868.

---------------------------------------------------------

Wow! Have You Seen Langley Thrift Store Lately?
It’s goodbye to the double hanging clothing racks and narrow, dark aisles... and hello to a reorganized space with a brighter look, spacious clothing aisles and enlarged shoe sales area.

(Thanks to volunteers Larry Wright and Bill Tullock for building our new clothing and shoe racks.)

The back room now houses children’s clothing. The craft, notions and linens department has moved to the room to the rear of the collectible room. Stop by and take a look!.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bargains for the Whole Family at Good Cheer Clothing Rack At Clinton Thrift Store

The store sells gently-used clothing for the entire family, everything from sleepwear to winter coats, plus shoes and accessories for $7 or less. Proceeds help fund Good Cheer, which operates the community food bank.

Good Cheer’s Clothing Rack is open every day from noon to 5 p.m.

Become a Good Cheer Reserve Corps Volunteer
Become a member of Good Cheer's new reserve volunteer corps -- people who will only be called upon during times of urgent need.

What's an urgent need? It could be when there is a major food drive and volunteers are needed to restock food shelves. It could be when there are higher than normal item donations and all hands are needed to process the items swiftly. It could mean help during an upcoming relocation of the food bank to its new home at Bayview. If you would like to make the difference at Good Cheer, either stop in at the Langley Thrift Store or at the new Bayview location and fill out an application, or click here for a downloadable form which you can mail in or email back to Good Cheer at kathy@goodcheer.org.

Downloadable Volunteer Registration PDF form.

Bad Tie Day Is Every Friday
Wear an outrageous, ugly or just plain "bad" tie to either Good Cheer Thrift Store on Fridays and receive 10% off your purchases.

-----------------------------------------