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Check it out. The Grapevine Independent ran a story on the Shoe Drive. Hopefully you can read it in the scanned version below. The story should be live though on the Grapevine website at some point tomorrow, so please visit there too. Thank you Grapevine. What do you think of the story?

Thank you to Bonnie for the images below from today’s media event at Payless Shoe Source. It was really nice to get together with a group of community members to hand over the checks and celebrate an extremely succesful shoe drive. Thank you also to the Rancho Cordova Post and Grapevine for covering this event.

We are very pleased to announce that the final tally of donations for the Project 680 Shoe Drive is $3,601.51. Can you believe it? Our goal had been $1,500, but together we left that in the dust. Thank you everyone who participated in big and small ways. Thank you to local residents, businesses, churches and organizations that partnered together in this effort.

This project has been all about the kids, and putting new shoes on students that need them. It’s so exciting to think of the joy and dignity these students will have to select a brand new pair of shoes soon. Thank you everyone. We did this as a team!!! Let’s celebrate!!!

We’re so excited to announce the tally of donations for the Project 680 Shoe Drive, but before we do that tomorrow we wanted to say thank you to everyone who played a role in this effort.

First of all, residents in Rancho Cordova, Folsom, and outlying areas have been the backbone for projects we have done in the past, and certainly this was the case for the Shoe Drive. Thank you local residents for caring about students in the FCUSD and responding in such a practical way - especially in this economy. We know who many of you are because you wrote a check with your name on it, but for others who told a friend, donated anonymously, linked to us from your website, encouraged us, networked on Facebook, went on the community bike ride, prayed, or found some other creative way to show support, we thank you.

Thank you to Project 680 All-Star Volunteers!!!

In no particular order, we’d like to acknowledge the following volunteers for really stepping up to the plate to help make things happen. Photo by JoAnna Bueno-Williams.

George Burnash
Sydney Cooley
Sheryl Longsworth
Haley McDonald
Jen & Brandon Tartaglia
Anne Lowe
Shannan Loveless
Don Black
Cory Lundquist
JoAnna Bueno-Williams
Dave Ingland
Butch & Bonnie Penrose
Lynette Yoes
Amy Moehlman
Steve Gallo
Mike Cook

Thank you to Bottlecap Magnets for your Partnership!!!

We want to give an enormous thank-you to www.BottlecapMagnets.com. Not only did Bottlecap Magnets partner with us to offer handmade and original Project 680 bottlecap magnets, but they also gave major design support by creating graphics for the community bike ride, shoe drive, and even large fake checks to present to Payless Shoe Source. Additionally, they helped us polish up the Shoe Drive flyer. There were truly many hours of donated design time and we are extremely grateful. The support and patnership we received from Bottlecap Magnets truly made our Shoe Drive better.

Thank you to the Project  680 Shoe Drive Sponsors!!!

• Folsom Cordova Community Partnership is a regular supporter of some of the programs of the Folsom Cordova District Liaison for Homeless Services. We asked FCCP if they would accept checks on behalf of the shoe drive, and they agreed. This was an enormous blessing for us.
• The Soroptimist Organization of Rancho Cordova is a growing group of women who are committed to our community and we appreciate the generous financial donations from so many members.
• The Rancho Cordova Post provided orange juice on the morning of the bike ride, and they also covered the evolution of the shoe drive from the planning stages to the finish. We appreciate the articles they wrote over the past few months. 
• Bicycling Advocates for Rancho Cordova (BARC) got word out about the community bike ride to their members as well as others in the bicycling community. We appreciate the safety tips they gave on the morning of our bike ride too. 
• Let’s not forget the free coffee that Starbucks at Capital Village in Rancho Cordova provided us on the morning of our bike ride. It was a very nice touch to enjoy some freshly brewed coffee (in festive red holiday cups too). Please thank Corey and Megan in person when you see their barista skills in action (and tip ‘em too).
• New Horizons Christian Church was a very strong partner for the Shoe Drive. Their church members enthusiastically embraced this cause and together they raised $807.00. They even hosted a community BBQ as a way to raise funds and awareness.
• Lundquist Appraisal Company offered web support and definitely time away from business for Ryan to do some Project 680 stuff. 
• Rancho Cordova City Hall Employees came up big again for Project 680. They have a heart for the community and we appreciate the donations, bottlecap magnet purchases, link from your website, encouragement, and for coming on the community bike ride. It goes without saying too that Shannan was an excellent Project 680 Liaison at City Hall. 
• We appreciate both Rancho Cordova Councilmember David Sander and Rancho Cordova Vice-Mayor Ken Cooley for supporting this project and for pedaling with us on the community bike ride.
• We already mentioned www.BottlecapMagnets.com above, but we figured another mention in the sponsor section here was truly warranted because of all their support.
• Gold River Carpets & Floors gave us space to meet on September 22 for our initial planning meeting. It was at this meeting where vision took shape and a Shoe Drive / Bike Ride was born.
• We sincerely appreciate efforts made by Cordova Neighborhood Church and Cordova Church of Christ in terms of donations, involving their congregations, and making announcements. Thank you for your heart for the community. It was really nice to have Pastor Mike & Robin Mitchum and Pastor Larry & Cynthia Stafford join our community bike ride.
• The Volunteer Center of Sacramento was a huge asset for us because they help connect volunteers with local causes. As soon as we were listed on their website we began getting emails from people who wanted to get involved. We know of at least two volunteers who came to our bike ride solely because they found us through the Volunteer Center of Sacramento.
• Amy and Carolyn from Hubbert Systems did some sort of neighborhood Halloween party where they raised some money. We love their creativity and willingness to make a difference.
• We’d like to mention the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce here also because they raised $1,000 for the shoe drive. Their donation won’t be tallied in our final total because we were really separate groups working under the umbrella of the same cause, but we absolutely feel like partners to support the District Liaison’s yearly shoe drive. Way to go Chamber!!!

Closing Thoughts

On a personal note, I want to thank my wife Jenny for the grace that emanates from her life. She is a shining example of a supportive wife and partner, and I appreciate her continual encouragement and allowance for me to do some of the things I feel called to do. I also wish to thank my parents, brother and sister-in-law, grandmother, and sister/brother-in-law for their tangible support during the Shoe Drive.

The whole point of our efforts over the past two months was to put shoes on kids that need them. Because of our teamwork that is going to happen in even larger numbers than we had hoped for. Thank you for your generosity. Together we have made a difference. It’s time to celebrate a tremendous community team effort.

Ryan Lundquist
Project 680
TEL: 916-595-3735
FAX: 916-361-1964
ryan@project680.org

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love” Mother Theresa

We added a nifty little widget at the top of the right sidebar so you can subscribe to Project 680 blog posts. All you need to do is enter your email address, push “submit”, and follow one very simple instruction. You’ll receive an email from Feedburner, and you only need to confirm that you want to subscribe. It’s simple. This is one great way to stay up-to-date with what is going on in the world of Project 680. Thank you everyone for your support.

We will be celebrating a successful community project on Thursday, 11/12/09 at 11am at Payless Shoe Source in Rancho Cordova at 10697 Folsom Blvd. Please join us along with the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce to present a check to Payless Shoe Source. Since Payless is the vendor of choice for the shoe drive, we will host an event on this day at their facility. The event will last 15-30 minutes at most. We’ll basically talk for 10 minutes and mingle for the rest of the time.

We can hardly wait to announce the final tally from our Shoe Drive. We won’t say exactly how much we raised yet, but we are delighted to say we have blown away our goal of $1,500. Way to go!!!

Fox 40 News came by and filmed us while we were at River Bend Park during our community bike ride. Thank you Fox 40. This video was recorded from a DVR and then converted to an AVI file optimal for a smaller screen – not a full screen (thank you Gary).  News 10 also filmed us, but they didn’t air the story for whatever reason.

NOTE: The video has one brief audio clip that seems to indicate that riding bikes solves student homelessness. It probably goes without saying, but this audio snipet was obviously part of a larger context of thoughts.

We were graced to have photographer JoAnna Bueno-Williams come to the Project 680 Community Bike Ride today. She snapped some incredible shots in the album below, and we are so grateful to have these images. Press play below and let us know what you think. The pictures are in chronological order from meeting at Hagan Park to riding to River Bend Park and then back. As you can tell, we had a great turn-out and we sure did have fun. Great work everyone!!! We will announce soon the final tally of money raised!!! You can also view the slideshow online.

What an awesome community bike ride. Thanks everyone. We’ll unpack all the wonderful things that went on today and share pictures and video in coming days where possible. If you have pictures or video, please email them to info@project680.org (or if you have quite a bit, let’s make other arrangements).

We are so proud of the community. We had probably close to 50 riders. It was phenomenal to see community buy-in for the sake of local students in need. Great work everyone!!! This Shoe Drive / Bike Ride has been a collective team effort and there are many people and organizations to thank. Be on the lookout for some online kudos throughout the next week.

Together we can make a difference. Our community did something wonderful today.

In a matter of hours we will embark on our community bike ride. We are very excited and we acknowledge that this has truly been a collective community effort. Any success in this project is due to the community joining forces to advocate for local kids. It’s amazing what we can do when we get intentional together. Thank you everyone!!! Now let’s go enjoy a bike ride.

On Thursday 11/12/09 at 11am at Payless Shoe Source in Rancho Cordova (10697 Folsom Blvd), we will celebrate a victorious shoe drive and hand over donated funds to the District Liaison for Homeless Services. The Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce will also be present to present a check to Payless Shoe Source for money they raised from a golf tournament.

We are expecting local media from the Rancho Cordova Post and Grapevine Independent, and we’d love to have additional media outlets join us also to cover the story and see firsthand what a group of ordinary community members can do when they get intentional about a local issue. If you have been a part of this project or simply watched from afar, please come out to celebrate with us!!! This will be a brief event and last probably 15-30 minutes at the most.

During our media day, we will announce the final tally of donations for the Project 680 Shoe Drive.