Spread the Dough

How to Spread the Dough

Starting Spread the Dough involved a countless number of phone calls, in kind letters, meetings, and so on. If you are looking to start a similar program, the following tips might be very useful. While it is speaking in terms of Spread the Dough, these steps are versatile and can be applied to a number of projects.

I saw a need for food within the shelters and an alternative to throwing out food every night at local bakeries. These two paths resulted in the decision to approach a bakery and ask if they would be willing to donate their left over bread to the homeless.

Before I even thought of approaching the bakery I did the following:

1. Recruited a group of reliable, committed volunteers willing to pick up and drop off bread on a set schedule

2. Called near by shelters and soup kitchens to make sure they would be able to accept our donation. It was important to have several shelters and soup kitchens ready to accept the donations, just in case we had an incredible amount of bread.

3. Wrote out a detailed plan of Spread the Dough which included:

-What Spread the Dough was

-How it could be done

-The need for the program

-Hypothetical situations (such as, what if the bakery didn't need to bread on a certain night)

-A short biography of myself to convince the donor I was trustworthy and serious young person

-Goals

-The schedule that would be used for picking up and dropping off the bread

4. I set up a meeting with the bakery's owner to give a short presentation of my outline and begin to build a relationship with my soon-to-be donors

5. We scheduled a kick-off date of which the local newspaper was present to cover the story

-It was vital that we called the shelters ahead of time so they were aware of the donation and newspaper

6. Each week I call the bakery and volunteers to make sure they are all on track and there is bread to pick up

No Loaf Left Behind

How to Spread the Dough

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