So many "thank you"s

As we enjoy this holiday with our families, let's also take a moment to highlight some of the remarkable supporters in the Bread for the City community.

For instance, the Washington Post's Steven Pearlstein -- in his annual column about the year's best corporate philanthropy -- gave special recognition to WilmerHale for the law firm's fantastic support of Bread for the City, as well as to DLA Piper!. Thanks to Steven, and a huge thanks to WilmerHale and DLA Piper! (Read more coverage of WilmerHale's work with us here and DLA Piper's work here.)

Also prominent: Cokie Roberts came to visit us during Holiday Helpings, took a tour of our facility and asked some great questions about how it all works, and then wrote a thoughtful column about hunger in America. See pictures of her visit here.

I'd also like to take a moment to acknowledge some remarkable contributions from individuals you haven't heard of before:

Nick L. Bennett, for instance, has made a generous contribution to Bread for the City for the past ten years. It's always a different number, always in uneven amounts. Here's how he calculates his giving: while riding his bike to work each day, he would stop to pick up any coins he saw on the roadway. At the end of the year, he would multiply the sum of those coins by 100, and write a check for that amount to Bread for the City. He said he did this in recognition of what a lucky man he was.


A few years ago Mr. Bennett had a brain aneurysm, and ceased biking. But still today he finds coins while walking, and at the end of the year still makes a check out to Bread for the City for 100 times the amount. Thank you for this remarkable gesture, Mr. Bennett.

[Thanks to Colonel Joel Gardner for this story.]



And finally, Frederick Scott came to Bread for the City while on a field trip to DC with his church group. Fred helped us out in the food pantry for an afternoon, and apparently we impressed him, because he subsequently made a video about us, hosted a bake sale at his school to raise money, and then brought his mother with him for a second volunteer session. Here's the kicker: Rick is from Massachusetts! He and his mom took a special train trip all the way down to DC just to volunteer at Bread for the City, because he was so taken with our work.

Says Rick:

The small gestures and acts of kindness from my school's community back home made this trip possible. They showed me how a "community" can gather and achieve something great. I see it at home, I see at Bread for the City, and someday I imagine seeing it all over the world."

Rick made another lovely video after his second trip:

Thank you, Rick and all of our supporters. Your support makes such a difference! Happy holidays to all.