Article Contributed on: 5/13/2009 8:46:52 AM
This year's Postal Service food drive in the greater Golden area on May 9th was a huge success. Besides breaking a record, donations increased significantly over 2008, which was just what was needed this year, one in which a lot of people are hurting. This annual event is a community partnership in Golden involving postal carriers who pick up the donated food at mailboxes and the Golden Lions Club who help the carriers unload their mail trucks at the Johnson Road main post office, sort the donated food and pack it into plastic mail bins, then the bins into large rolling carts. The carts are loaded onto a truck rented by the Lions and delivered to the Christian Action Guild on 14th Street, where an army of volunteers from local churches, help the Lions unload the trucks and sort the food by product to fill the shelves of the guild's food pantry for distribution to those who need it. This process continues all afternoon long and into the evening. Keep in mind, that it all starts with the Golden residents who fill bags with their donations of non-perishable foods to help those less fortunate and put them by their mailbox to start the process. It is truly one neighbor helping another.
22,000 pounds of food were collected in 2009 versus 18,000 in 2008. That was a wonderful outpouring of generosity given the economy and the greater need this year and will go a long way towards helping those who need it most. Kudos to greater Golden residents, the Postal Service employees, the Golden Lions and the Christian Action Guild volunteers for making it happen once again.