President/CEO, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services

Blake Young is an example of a WE Connect partner whose life has come full circle.

Raised with his brother by a single mother and grandmother, Blake's family was helped by a food bank many times while growing up in a small farm town.

After high school, Blake joined the military where he got involved in some large scale feeding programs and charitable work. When he left military for college, he continued working with feeding programs while volunteering with Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

But it was when he moved to Sacramento that Blake's life came full circle and where charity and volunteerism become his life's work.

While delivering turkeys to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS) almost 13 years ago, he met the founder, Father Dan Madigan, and they struck up a friendship. It just so happened that the organization needed someone with Blake's talent to help SFBFS build relationships and development within the community.

"I had a real love of helping people and working with charity. So I took a leap of faith, joined the food bank, and the rest is history," Blake said.

That love has helped transform SFBFS into an organization that feeds over 1,000 people on a daily basis, primarily with the help of nearly 3,000 volunteers annually.

"People that volunteer have a common thread about them. They look at the world a little bit different. It's not so much a "me" generation, but an "us" generation," Blake said.

"Volunteers have the opportunity to change the way people think about helping others. If we're going to make this country better, volunteerism is going to make that happen."

Since 1976, SFBFS has provided food, clothing, education programs and human services to the Sacramento area. Their overall mission is to assist those in need and move them towards self-sufficiency and financial independence.

According to Blake, the food bank distributes over 4 million pounds of take-home groceries annually, which translates to about $20 million in products and services a year.

All the food given out is donated by individuals who drop off food at the food bank and from local supermarkets, restaurants, and farmers in the region.

"Giving time, talent, and treasure is the backbone of our country. I think that we will rise up, despite the current economic situation, because we are a people of charity," Blake said.

One charitable program Blake has been impressed with is AmeriCORPS, a volunteer program that partners with non-profit organizations and public agencies dedicated to help communities in need on a variety of fronts, from public education to environmental clean-up.

"They go into communities and perform an incredible amount of work with underserved populations," Blake said.

Recognizing their dedication, Blake has since gone on to hire several of these volunteers to work full-time at the food bank.

SFBFS also organizes The Run to Feed the Hungry, an annual holiday tradition for countless area families. Beginning in 1994 with only 800 runners, the event now ranks as Sacramento Valley's largest annual run & fun run/walk with over 30,000 participants and donations topping $750,000.
Blake explains this is one of several ways the SFBFS is helping to lend support to the community and what the impact can be when others get involved.

"There's nothing better than looking at a senior citizen who's a WWII veteran in their 90's working at our food program right next to a kid who's 11 years old. There's a tremendous amount of synergy and energy that can happen during that time," Blake said.

Governor Schwarzenegger, the First Lady and several local and state government officials have spent time at the food bank in the past, so they are aware of the impact that it has had on the community.

Blake points out he was approached by First Lady Maria Shriver's office to host a WE Connect Community Event, partly because SFBFS has a huge access to people that can benefit from the WE Connect program and the services it offers.

The event in March was a successful one, able to help families in need receive free tax preparation and find out about resources and programs they were eligible for.

"I like WE Connect simply because it is a very dignified way to assist people and it helps empower them," Blake said.

"And hopefully with WE Connect, they can continue stepping up the rungs of the ladder to self-sufficiency and financial independence."

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