DIVE!
TJCCC partners with a Whole Foods store and the Arvada Community Food Bank to save food that would normally be thrown away, but is still edible. TJCCC volunteers go to the Whole Foods store at the appointed time to pick up the saved food. They then take the food to the Arvada Community Food Bank, where it is distributed to their clients. Since this began in November of 2009, it has already expanded from 1 day a week to 2 days a week and will continue to expand to multiple pick up days and multiple stores in the near future. In 2009, TJCCC saved and donated 794 pounds of food. To date in 2010, TJCCC has saved and donated 2,639.5 pounds. Since its inception in November 2009, TJCCC’s DIVE! program has saved and donated a total 3,433.5 pounds of food.
The DIVE! program was inspired by the documentary film of the same name. DIVE! the film examines food waste in the Unites States from the perspective of grocery store dumpsters. For more information about the film, visit http://divethefilm.com.
Paint and Repair Weekend
The Paint and Repair Weekend will allow TJCCC volunteers to help people who are in need of some minor home repairs and/or new paint on their homes. We will focus on helping those within our own community, and also in the surrounding communities who have these needs. This will be an opportunity for volunteers to use the skills that they have in home repair to help those within our own community who may not have the ability or finances to allow them to make these home improvements. Our first Paint and Repair Weekend will take place in the summer of 2010.
School Supply Drive
Every child who is in school is required to bring their own school supplies. Many families are unable to provide the required supplies for their children for a variety of reasons. TJCCC will help meet this need by having a school supply drive before the school year starts. We will partner with a local agency in order to distribute these supplies to the children and families that are in need.
Clothing Drive for Excelsior Youth Center
Excelsior Youth Center is a residential treatment center for young women ages 12-21. TJCCC partnered with the staff at Excelsior Youth Center to provide the women at the center with appropriate clothing for job interviews as part of their treatment plans. Along with work-appropriate clothing, we were also able to provide some additional casual clothing to help with the young women’s everyday clothing needs. We were also able to provide books, movies, and other non-essentials that the residents will be able to earn. TJCCC responded to this drive so well that we will be looking for other centers to help in the future. Our October 2009 drive brought in 433 shirts, 145 pairs of pants, 16 suits, 59 dresses, and other items. The total number of items donated was 1,048.
Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive
The Arvada Community Food Bank provides Thanksgiving boxes to their clients with the food needed to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. TJCCC partners with the Arvada Community Food Bank to collect the items needed to fill these boxes. Once the food has been collected, volunteers from TJCCC partner with other volunteers at the food bank to sort through the donated food and help hand out the Thanksgiving boxes to the clients. This is a partnership that will continue in the future. During our November 2009 drive, we were able to collect and donate 800 pounds of food for Thanksgiving baskets.