OUR IMPACT:
82 VOLUNTEERS = 190.5 hours of work
6645 meals provided
2215 boxes of food packed
1400 pounds of food served
500 children impacted
300 backpacks filled with school supplies
Hundreds of pounds of beets harvested and prepped
100 neighborhood residents received pantry items
6 bags of garbage rescued from New Haven harbor
3 rows of arugula, kale and Asian greens planted
1 new compost area cleared
Capital Area Food Bank
Washington, DC :: August 9, 2021
It was a family affair for our final in-person service event at Capital Area Food Bank in Washington DC on August 9. Our 13 Daze of Service volunteers ranged in age from 13 – 65. During orientation, they learned CAFB normally provides 300-400 meals a week to neighbors in need, but as a result of Covid-19, its now 2,600. Working assembly-line style, they kept that wheel turning and didn’t slow down all night. They filled and packed 40 pallets of boxes (45 boxes per pallet x 40 pallets= 1800 boxes) which will provide food to 1,800 families in need. Strangers helping Strangers indeed! “This was a fun and rewarding experience,” remarked a volunteer. “Thank you for allowing me to be of service in Jerry’s memory.”
Long Wharf Nature Preserve Clean Up
New Haven, CT :: August 8, 2021
Mission in the Rain! Due to heavy rain, we had to officially postpone our Long Wharf Nature Preserve clean-up, but a few (5) volunteers + pup showed up and collected enough garbage to fill seven bags. With Gather New Haven’s guidance, everyone did a great job keeping this area clean and safe for wildlife by picking up straws, glass bottles, fishing line, rubber, plastics, bottle caps & Styrofoam. Jerry Garcia loved the water and was an avid scuba diver, so this was a fitting way to honor him.
White Point Nature Preserve
Los Angeles, CA ::
August 7, 2021
Daze of Service volunteers partnered with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and gave much-needed love to some native plants. In and out of the garden they went, watering, weeding, and mulching at White Point Nature Preserve. We are grateful to all who came out. What an honorable way to discover the wonders of nature!
Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange
Chicago, IL :: August 7, 2021
Inspiration moved our volunteers brightly as they helped create school supply items and sort books for teachers in Chicago Public Schools. Using recycled and repurposed items, they created imagination notebooks for children to write in, used an Ellison Machine to make animal masks for children to decorate, and crafted vinyl posters so that children can make their own pencil cases.
Food Runners
San Francisco, CA ::
August 6, 2021
‘Might as Well’ give a couple of hours of your time in the city before heading up to Daze Between Music Festival in Laytonville and that’s exactly what our volunteers did. Thanks to everyone who repackaged, garnished, boxed and stacked much-needed food donated by local restaurants which will be provided to Bay Area shelters and other neighborhood food programs.
Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen
New Haven, CT ::
August 4, 2021
The Mighty Dozen! Yes, 12 volunteers helped out at Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen. We served over 100 neighborhood residents during their weekly pantry day – where clients can drop in to receive fresh produce, milk, bread, canned goods and some bonus items. Some of the volunteers were former Gathering of the Vibes & JamCruise staffers, so it was like a family reunion and there were good vibes everywhere. We received a quick overview of what the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen does and the various programs they offer in the community. Everyone is planning on coming to the Westville Bowl show, so we said our goodbyes knowing we will see each other again soon.
SHARE Food Program
Philadelphia, PA :: August 4, 2021
City of Brotherly Love! We had 9 volunteers at SHARE Food Program’s warehouse, helping to pack nutritious boxes of food for their Seniors Program. Our group packed 415 boxes which totaled over 10k pounds of essential foods. The overall vibe was great and a few people remarked that it made helping others fun. One of the volunteers commented: “Phenomenal service that is being provided. I am grateful to have spent some time with these wonderful people. I will volunteer again!” What an incredible way to give back to the community.
FFLC Youth Farm
Eugene, OR :: August 4, 2021
Daze of Service volunteers had a fun, educational and productive morning at the FFLC Youth Farm where they picked and prepped hundreds of pounds of beets! There were three generations of deadheads here in total 7 volunteers. Everyone had a great time, talked about shows past and upcoming, and enjoyed a Grateful Dead playlist that one volunteer had put together. Phone numbers & emails were exchanged and the group left as friends. Volunteers were given heirloom tomatoes to take home and were encouraged to pick some strawberries on their way out!
Cradles To Crayons
Newtonville, MA :: August 3, 2021
As Grateful Dead music was put on thru the warehouse speakers, strangers soon became friends with talk of what shows they’ve seen and where, and who’s going to what concerts this summer. One woman just moved from Colorado to Boston and appreciated meeting new people. Another woman said that she’s a recent empty nester now and wants to do more volunteer work, but hadn’t found a place to start yet and commented how fun this was to be together with deadheads. Cradles to Crayons was thrilled for our participation and couldn’t have been nicer or more professional. None of the participants had volunteered with C2C before, so they were pleased to have this very positive experience here. Our group filled 300 backpacks with school supplies and overall impacted 500 children.