Press Release "Make a Difference"
Would you like to make a difference? Would you be willing to share some of your good fortune with your neighbors? Arriving
at your doorstep shortly will be a donation gift bag, fill it with non perishable food items and then call the number on the
flyer and a volunteer will stop by and pick it up. 100 % of your donation will go directly to the local community. This grass
roots food drive will have a significant impact on many local families and you can be part of the
neighbors helping neighbors program. So when the bag lands on your doorstep please HELP.
Press Release "San Diego County Gift Bag Drive"
Each year for the past 10 years, a group
of all volunteers has been making a difference for many San Diego County residents. The Gift Bag Drive, allows local
households to share their blessings and good fortune with their neighbors. This is a grass roots drive
done door to door, face to face, one bag at a time. Local Realtors this year
will deliver in excess of 3000 bags to local homes and ask that they be filled with non- perishable food items. All donations
are passed to local organizations for distribution to those in need. The response from San Diego County residents has been
tremendous. People really do care and most are willing to share, to make life a little better for those less fortunate. The
recent fires and the devastation wrought on theSan Diego County residnets has been a sobering reminder that bad things
can happen to good people and there are always people who need help. Even small donations can make a significant impact during
this Holiday season.
Press Release "11th
annual Gift Bag Drive"
The 11th annual Gift
Bag Drive is in full swing in San Diego County. This drive, started by local Realtor Jeff Campbell, has continued
to expand and grow and this year will be the biggest yet. The concept is quite simple, make it as easy as possible for local
residents to donate non perishable food items and then pass those donations to local organizations for distribution to those
in need. The gift bags are delivered by local Realtors to the door steps of over 30,000 homes in San Diego County.
A simple phone call, after filling the bag, will bring one of the volunteers to the home for a pick up. The simplicity of
the idea is probably what, makes this drive so immensely successful.
Press Release "
REALTORS are giving back"
San Diego County Realtors are giving back to their communities in a "bag" way.
For the 11th straight year, local Realtors are out in their neighborhoods passing out bags and asking the local community
to fill them with non-perishable food items. This grass roots food drive conceived and started by Jeff Campbell, a local Real
Estate agent has made a positive impact on many lives in the county. Even Jeff, a possibilities thinker is amazed at how quickly
his idea has grown... The all volunteer drive will pass out over 3,000 bags this year alone. This unique concept allows individual
households to share their good fortune by donating as little or as much as they want. After the bags are dropped off, a call
to one of the volunteers will result in a pick-up and delivery of the donation to one of several central staging points. All
donations are passed to local organizations for distribution to needy recipients.
Press Release "How it got
started"
Eleven years
ago, Jeff Campbell passed out 200 grocery bags to his neighbors in Alpine, asking them to fill the bags with food.
He did this as a thank you to his neighbors who so often referred him real estate business. As many realtors find their schedules
too busy to be members of civic groups, Campbell felt this was a good way for him to begin supporting his community.
The collection
netted 30 cases of food of which all were passed out to 5 churches. This was a bonanza to Campbell! Little did he know that the 30 cases of food would be more than doubled the next
year.
The Drive grew
to a record setting 100,000 bags having been passed out to residents throughout the East San Diego County in 2007. At
the height of the program, the volunteers grew to an incredible 90 Realtors and associated tradesmen and women assisting
in the group effort.
Press Release "It's All from
the Heart"
The coined
a number of phrases over the years. As you learn about giving through giving, a number of lessons are learned. One of the
phrases used is "One door at a time." Our volunteers have literally visited well over 100,000 doors in San Diego County.
The measurement of success in passing out bags is measured one door, one house, one resident at a time.
Another phrase
coined is "Polywin." According to founder Jeff Campbell, he thought used this term in one of his speeches at the Gift Bag
luncheon. " We have all heard of a win-win situation. This drive represents a win-win-win-win scenario. The volunteer wins
by doing something good for the community. The donor wins by enjoying the wonderful feeling of helping someone out. The organization
we give to wins by collecting goods to distribute and the beneficiary wins by enjoying the blessing held in each Gift Bag.
The mantra of the drive
has been that we don't solicit money for ourselves, instruct all volunteers never to take cash and we don't give receipts
for tax write-offs. This is a grassroots effort that encourages people to give from the heart; not from the tax return.
