CSRA FAQs
What is It’s Spooky to be Hungry®?
It's Spooky To Be Hungry® is a grassroots, all-volunteer,
primarily neighbor-to-neighbor food drive which takes place
throughout October, but primarily on or around the 4th Saturday
in October. We bring hundreds of adults and children together
in fun, brief, significant, community-building volunteer work,
as we help fight hunger and feed the needy.
Spooky has no employees, pays no salaries, and keeps none
of the money we raise directly from our projects to cover
administrative costs. We are a service project of the non-profit
corporation, Big Changes Start Small, Inc.®.
What is this year's date for the Spooky Collection?
Each year It’s Spooky To Be Hungry® takes place on and around
the fourth Saturday in October. Our target collection date
this year is October 27, 2007. Contact
us to get involved
How Does Spooky Work?
The basic Spooky collection is as follows: Each participating
neighborhood has its own captain, who coordinates volunteers
and collection. Prior to collection day, flyers describing
the specifics of the upcoming food drive are distributed to
each home. On collection day, teams of volunteers go door-to-door
gathering donations of food and money. Contributions are brought
to a central location in the neighborhood, where the food
is weighed and stored briefly until pick-up by the local food
bank. A Celebration Weigh In of the total collection usually
takes place soon after the collection is completed, to give
an inspiring closure at the conclusion of a successful event.
In addition to collecting in neighborhoods, many people get
involved with Spooky by organizing Spooky food drives in their
school, business, civic organization or faith community. Guidelines
fully describing neighborhood collections are available to
all new captains. Click here
to learn more about Spooky’s Volunteer opportunities in
the CSRA.
Where Does My Donation To It’s Spooky To Be Hungry
Go?
Every single cent of your donation to It's Spooky To Be Hungry
goes to help fight hunger. We donate and distribute the entire
proceeds of It's Spooky To Be Hungry through Golden Harvest
Food Bank, who pledges in turn to use all of our support solely
for the purchase of food. We keep not a single penny to cover
our administrative costs. We keep our administrative costs
very low and cover those expenses through separate fundraising
done by our parent non-profit organization, Big
Changes Start Small, Inc®. Contact
us for more information or donate to help cover our operating
expenses.
What is the “Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon?” and
why should I attend?
Each year, Spooky CSRA hosts a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
for the food drive leadership, inviting all Captains, Coordinators,
and Staff to be our guests as we celebrate together the wonderful
accomplishments of their combined efforts. Spooky volunteers
from all over the region share a great time together -- meeting
terrific people, celebrating the positive in our community
and each other, and learning more about Spooky CSRA. For the
last several years, the event has been “sold out”, limited
to approximately 100 in attendance by the capacity of the
lovely donated meeting space. We encourage all our Spooky
leadership to attend, and to RSVP early to reserve a space
at the luncheon! To get directions to the CSRA Luncheon click
here or Contact Us to learn more.
What is the “Celebration Weigh In” and why should
I attend?
The Celebration Weigh In is an annual event – great fun for
children and adults -- hosted by the CSRA Spooky chapter and
Golden Harvest Food Bank. The Weigh In is a chance to publicly
thank volunteers and donors for their support of Spooky. It
is also a special opportunity for volunteers, both adults
and children, to meet each other, and to see the total proceeds
of their efforts: to see how much people can accomplish together
when they each do their small part to add to the whole. At
the Weigh In, you will see the amazing and inspiring total
amount of Spooky food collected. Also at the Weigh In, we
make our official announcement of each year’s Spooky totals.
We have party, terrific door prizes, and a very popular total
weight and money guessing game with grand prizes for the winners.
Attendees learn more about what the Spooky food and money
means to those in need, and tours of the Golden Harvest warehouse
are also available. The Celebration Weigh In is a wonderful
opportunity for children to understand more about the importance
of caring for others, while having a great time themselves.
For directions to the CSRA Celebration Weigh In click here
or Contact Us for more information
Who are Spooky “Supporters” and how can I become
one?
Becoming a Spooky Supporter is a very easy way to make a difference!
Many businesses and organizations want to become involved
with Spooky. Some show their support by becoming a Spooky
collection site. (See Lead an Organization). Others sign on
as “Spooky Supporters”, making a monetary donation to the
Spooky drive. There is no minimum donation required. All such
donations go solely to the total donation to help the needy,
with none of it going to our administrative costs. Spooky
Supporters receive an official poster, identifying them as
such, to put at their place of business. They are recognized
in Spooky public acknowledgments and on our website, with
a link to their own website, if they wish. Please take a look
at our Spooky Supporters, and choose to patronize these special
Spooky donors. For more information on how to become a Spooky
Supporter, contact us.
Who are “Friends of Spooky” and how can I become
one?
There are a number of businesses and professionals who provide
invaluable support to It’s Spooky To Be Hungry® and our parent
non-profit charitable corporation, Big Changes Start Small,
Inc. ®. They donate products, services, and expertise to us,
allowing us to keep our overhead costs extremely low. This,
in turn, allows us to continue to use all monies donated to
the Spooky drive solely for the purchase of food. These professional
donations would ordinarily be expenses well beyond our very
modest administrative budget. Such services include printing
and copying, providing meeting space, and bookkeeping, accounting,
legal, and computer services, among others. If you have a
service or skill you are willing to donate to Spooky, we would
be most appreciative, and we ask you to contact us. We are
deeply grateful for this kind of support, without which we
could not continue in our mission. We encourage all those
who believe in It’s Spooky To Be Hungry to patronize our invaluable
Spooky Friends.
What if I don’t live in a “neighborhood” that I think
could do or would do a Spooky drive? Can I still get involved
in Spooky?
There are lots of ways to be involved in Spooky, even if you
don’t live in a neighborhood where a Spooky drive seems feasible.
You and your family can be connected with another neighborhood
where they could use some extra volunteer help. We are always
looking for volunteers to help us as we organize Spooky, and
would love to include you as a Coordinator or Staff member.
We also have Spooky drives through schools, faith communities,
businesses, and civic organizations. Perhaps you can get involved
by bringing a group you are part of into the Spooky network
of caring. We also have special “Friends
of Spooky” and “Spooky Supporters” who help make our project
successful. Contact us to find
out more.
What
is the relationship between It’s Spooky To Be Hungry CSRA
Chapter and Golden Harvest Food Bank?
Since Spooky’s inception in the greater Augusta area, Golden
Harvest Food Bank has been the recipient of all proceeds
of the local Spooky effort. They distribute the proceeds throughout
their 25 county service area.
By 2006, the continued phenomenal expansion of the Spooky
CSRA Chapter required us to think creatively about our all-volunteer
organizational structure. As a result, we formed a local partnership
with Golden Harvest Food Bank, that allows our volunteer corps
in Augusta access to the continuity and support that can be
provided by a much larger organization. With added support
from Golden Harvest Food Bank’s professional staff and “bricks
and mortar” resources, Spooky CSRA can continue to grow, without
having to invest in and duplicate such expensive services.
Golden Harvest and BCSS remain independent entities, pursuing
our independent but complementary missions, working together
with mutual support. And all proceeds of the Spooky drive
continue to be spent solely on the purchase of food, with
no deductions for administrative overhead made by either organization.
