We broke records. This is our update from Joan with the Sussex County Division Of Social Services Food Pantry. Thank YOU so much for helping us with all of this.
"First off, thank you so much for all of your support, I really cant thank you enough!! We are still tallying some money and awaiting one more bus, but I wanted to give you the totals we have so far-
We are actually over 60,000 lbs of food! Which beat last year!. Monetary donations are at over $12,000 too which is amazing. We also have over 300 turkeys!!! Shoprite said that there are still people donating too!
Thanks again and you guys ROCK!! (see what I did there) 😊"
Talk about a wonderful feeling. While we all work hard wall to wall with our food drive radiothons, it is so worth everything. This is one of the most rewarding and important things we get to do every single year. Everything we collect will stay local and help families in need right here in Sussex County. Every single town in Sussex County has families below the poverty line. I'm so honored we are going to be able to help many families have better holidays.
Friday, I took my show on the road and broadcasted live from Lakeland Bank in Sparta. We had a fantastic turnout there, and it's only our first year working together with them on Stuff The Bus. Immediate, instant success. I made several new friends while reconnecting with old ones too.
Friday after the show, work bestie Shawn and I celebrated with an IPA over at Crystal Springs Crystal Tavern. I even got a charcuterie board meal while there and loved it. That reminds me I have some leftovers I need to throw away from my refrigerator today whoops lol. We made new friends there too. All of the sudden several ladies entered Crystal Tavern wearing cowgirl hats and plaid shirts. You could tell they were likely from the city, visiting up here for a country weekend away. Work Bestie Shawn complimented the ladies and their country getups. That opened a line of communication and they then asked if I minded taking their picture. I told them they were in luck, they picked the right guy. They started posing beside the bar, but I warned them the lighting was too dim there and the pictures wouldn't look as nice. I positioned them in better lighting, then I took a selfie with them. I introduced myself and asked if they could be in my Epic Weekend In Pictures, and they cracked up. After I did a selfie with them on my iPhone 12 Mini, they then handed me their phone and asked if I could take a selfie on their phone so they could have a picture too. LOL. Have I mentioned how much I love living here? Every weekend has possibilities and fun potential. You never know what kind of new friends you might make LOL. They were up here for the weekend from Brooklyn. I told them I tend to nickname everyone, so they're now known as my new "Brooklyn Buddies." Total comedy gold.
1 of 6 Photo: Let's go!
2 of 6 Photo: Great turnout already at Lakeland Bank
3 of 6 Photo: Me with Ray
4 of 6 Photo: Great progress!
5 of 6 Photo: More turkeys!
6 of 6 Photo: What a moon!
Friday as I was leaving Crystal Springs, my besties Jasen and Brendan texted me asking if I was around. Turns out, I was woohoo. We met up for a drink at Frosty's Catina over at Minerals. They did a great job adding heaters, I was good wearing a hoodie, and it was cold Friday night. My friends Kate and Bryon also showed up and we had a great time. Great start to my Stuff The Bus Weekend. Definitely Epic.
1 of 9 Photo: Me with my friend Brian from ShopRite
2 of 9 Photo: Me with my new friend Steve from ShopRite
3 of 9 Photo: There we go!
4 of 9 Photo: My friends at Bristol Glen helping out big time!
5 of 9 Photo: My friends at Bristol Glen helping out big time!
6 of 9 Photo: My friends at Bristol Glen helping out big time!
7 of 9 Photo: Huge!
8 of 9 Photo: Me, bestie Steve and bartender bestie Sam
9 of 9 Photo: Me with our new Promotions Director Jim.
Saturday morning I was able to tackle some basic errands. It's a huge help for Steve Andrews to handle the morning shifts during our Stuff The Bus weekends, and me taking on the afternoons. I feel like our tag team has worked pretty well over the years.
By the way, for every one dollar we collected, The Sussex County Division Of Social Services Food pantry can buy five pounds of food. This happens because they're able to buy in bulk from the state food bank. When we say every little bit helps, we mean that literally. I'm so proud that we raised over 60,000 pounds of food and over $12,000 in cash. These are both records that have blown away any of our past totals. So humbling.
Saturday I received a nice surprise. My friends at Bristol Glen between their employees and residents have been collecting food donations all the last month. Their turnout was so huge, they brought a shuttle bus of their own that was stuffed to transfer over to our bus! They were headed to Newton ShopRite, but heard me on the radio say that I was in Franklin and then made the 30 minute detour to see me. I was honored they made that switch to be in my Epic Weekend In Pictures. The folks at Bristol Glen absolutely earned their spot on my Epic Weekend In Pictures.
It was so much fun as Saturday progressed I kept running into more and more of my friends that I see throughout the year.
We put up our Promotions Director Jim at Minerals Hotel for both Friday and Saturday night because of our intense weekend workload. I promised him I would be bad influence boss guy and take him out for a beer. I enjoyed a drink with my bestie Steve and Jim at Kite's, all while filling in Bartender Sam on some recent comedic nights that we have had. Those victory drinks were absolutely delicious. We could already tell the results for collections were looking strong, when Joan informed me that we would need a SECOND bus in Franklin. Awesome!
1 of 8 Photo: Me with Jim
2 of 8 Photo: Me, Scrunchy The Bear and Steve Andrews
3 of 8 Photo: My biker buddies The Warlocks!
4 of 8 Photo: They helped me look cool!
5 of 8 Photo: yes!
6 of 8 Photo: Starbucks break
7 of 8 Photo: hey Ty!
8 of 8 Photo: yes!
Last March, I had an awkward comedy gold encounter. While doing our Backpack Snacks For Kids food drive, I was alone at our promotion table playing our 102.3 WSUS radio station. At one point during Casey Kasem's show, we were playing Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. I will admit that is a guilty pleasure of mine. While we were playing Dolly Parton, all of the sudden 6 to 8 big biker guys walk by me and do a double take at me while I'm playing Dolly Parton. I even posted to my @SteveAllanRadio Instagram account "that awkward moment when."
Five minutes later, they approached me at the table while I'm playing WHAM! I was thinking to myself "this just doesn't seem like it is going to go well for me." Well, I was dead wrong.
My new Biker Buddies The Warlocks are a fantastic local motorcycle group who are huge on philanthropy just like we are. We stay in touch throughout the year. We're friends on social media now. It was an instant connection when we met. They're all great people with families, and love paying it forward. They reached out to me when they heard me say on the radio that Sunday I would be at ShopRite Of Sparta.
As work bestie Kim was dropping me off, ALL you could hear was dozens of motorcycles at the same time all arriving at ShopRite Of Sparta. I honestly am not a huge fan of the noise motorcycles make, these ones made me tear up. I knew my friends were there to help and support, turning out in large numbers. My Biker Buddies The Warlocks are really cool. I told them that it was like they gave me a motorcycle entourage motorcade entrance.
I want to give credit to ShopRite, as they had one of their employees be a great sport (thank you, Billy) and dress up as Scrunchy The Bear. He only almost ate me once. LOL.
Overall, we had a wonderful, Epic Weekend. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend, and it'll be Epic. I'm turning 40 on Thanksgiving Day and can't wait to see my family.