Have you ever heard the term “BHAG?” It stands for “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” and corporate America loves to invoke it. I have not personally read any of Jim Collins’ works, but I am assured by those who have that “BHAG” is an appropriate moniker for what I’m about to propose:
This December, KING 5 Television will hold our 10th annual Home Team Harvest food drive to benefit Northwest Harvest. In the world of community outreach at KING 5, it is our signature annual event and I believe the 10th of its kind should be something special. Now, I can’t and won't take full credit for the idea to expand Home Team Harvest. I need to acknowledge three people right off the bat: Mark Ginther, News Director of KING TV; Matt Campbell, my friend and co-conspirator at Northwest Harvest; and Ken Kirkpatrick, President of US Bank. Their encouragement over the last few weeks and months planted the seed for this very BIG idea:
“10 million meals in 10 years”
Has a nice ring to it, right? I can see the headlines now: “KING 5’s Home Team Harvest serves 10 million meals in 10 years to curb hunger in Washington State.” I have to believe it’s possible! Trouble is, we’ll need to collect 2.7 million meals this year alone to do it. Up till now, our single year record… is 1.6 million.
So, in order to meet the goal, we’ll need to collect a full ONE MILLION MORE meals than we’ve ever collected before. And let me clarify, it won’t be me or KING 5 bringing in those dollars and those pounds of food… it’ll be all of you – the community who makes it happen or not. On our end we will continue to educate our viewers about this (still) growing need in Washington State and offering the channels to make a donation. We’ll be asking for help from friends (like the Aerospace Machinists Union Members who show up in droves to volunteer!) and sponsors like US Bank (who has been with us almost since that very first year!) and hope to make a whole lot of new friends along the way. I can’t stress how much every dollar and every non-perishable food item really does make a difference.
The campaign kicks off on Saturday December 4th – I hope to see you there.
If you have any questions about how to contribute or suggestions for how we can achieve this BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOAL, please contact me directly:
Betsy Robertson, 206-274-4428, brobertson@king5.com
MORE INFORMATION:
KING Home Team Harvest
Tell me a little about Northwest Harvest.
• Northwest Harvest is Washington’s own statewide hunger relief agency.
• For over 40 years, we’ve served the needs of our neighbors in communities across the state.
• Our mission is to provide nutritious food to hungry people statewide in a manner that respects their dignity, while working to eliminate hunger.
• Northwest Harvest provides a variety of nutritious food to a statewide partner network of more than 300 food banks, meal programs and elementary schools.
• Last fiscal year, we secured more than 24 million pounds of food for distribution.
• Our vision is that ample nutritious food is available to everyone in Washington State.
Have you seen an increase in clients?
• Numbers remain high. Continued unemployment is one of the factors driving families to food banks.
• Slightly more than 1 in 7 Washingtonians relies on food stamps. Participation rose 21% from May 2009 to May 2010.
• Roughly half of Washington state infants are recipients of WIC (Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children).
What is Northwest Harvest’s greatest need?
• Money. We can feed a family of three one nutritious meal for 67 cents.
• Non-perishable food. If you can bring donations to our Kent warehouse or our Cherry Street Food Bank, your transport is saving us even more money that we can redirect towards food purchases.
To add a comment, please register or login.