Update - HPD's Comida Food Drive Is Here Again!

And I'm the lucky reluctant Store Captain for the Fiesta store located at F.M. 1960 and Hwy. 249. I'll be there the 30th, 31st, 1st and 2nd with cup in hand begging for moola and canned goods.

With any luck at all I'll have some other volunteers from the Houston Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, various area churches and some good looking, well armed men and women in blue to watch me watch the cash.

I've exlained to the powers that be about my recent surgery and how I'm going to be parking it in a chair whenever possible so I can make the entire 8 hours each day and they said that was cool. In fact, they even said I didn't have to be there at all just agree to be the store captain. Duh? Huh? Isn't that like saying you'll have sex and then not being under some guy when the time comes? (Only *I* could bring sex into a conversation about canned goods!).

So hope to see you there. Or if not, go to the Fiesta store closest to you and give to a worthy cause. Thanks!

HPD & HCPAAA's Comida Food Drive & Me (December 7, 2005)

UPDATE

It's over for another year! Yea! We did pretty good at 'my' store too. Total for the 4 days was $1942.96 and 17 boxes of food. It wouldn't of happened without the help of 3 area churches who send a dozen or more volunteers to hand out flyers and generally gently bug people about giving. These same churches and more are also the recipents of the food drive. Months and months before the actual drive the churches submit their needs to the powers that be and get on the list of those in line for the benefits.

Thanks to the Houston Police Officers that worked along side of me too. I considered them my "hired guns" and felt much safer being in charge of so much money with them around. It occurred to me that people tend to be more generous when they saw the uniforms and badges and all the officers were friendly and helped hand out the stickers, pencils, pencil sharpeners and rulers leftover from HPD's DARE programs. Thanks to HPD Officers Bob Smith, Brett Tatum (and his lovely daughter!), Joe Pennington and Ed Hall for their time and help cleaning up each night, storing the 'goodies' and making sure I got the day's cash donations safely stored in Fiesta's vault.

Thanks to my fellow Houston Citizen Police Academy Alumni Debbie Harlow for coming out part of Thursday and Friday to help and keep me company. All the officers and volunteers nearly frozen our own cans off during the 4 days! It was truly a labor of love to endure the first really impressive Artic blast this year. We set up our table right next to the ready-to-eat chickens and often used the hot lights to try and keep our hands warm right along side of the poultry!