Conference of Leaders From an Attendee Perspective
Posted by Jan Bottcher on Monday, September 12, 2011
I started with Domino Foods, Inc. (Domino® and C&H® sugar) in the spring of 2009. Our corporate sponsorship of Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale® was already in place. I thought it was a win-win situation for our brands and for Share Our Strength’s mission to end childhood hunger in America.
Great American Bake Sale supports one of our key initiatives: Teaching the next generation to bake. It’s a fun “give-back” activity that parents and kids can do together –the planning, the baking, the selling, and, of course, the tasting! And in addition to the satisfaction of supporting such a worthy cause, I also felt good about Great American Bake Sale because research has shown that consumers develop affinity for brands that are associated with charitable causes. All in all, Great American Bake Sale is a terrific partnership for us.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I signed up for my first Conference of Leaders in 2009. I came into it with a blank slate and an open mind—and my expectations were exceeded on every front.
First of all, I met an incredible cohort of advocates to end hunger from food companies, restaurants, governmental agencies, not-for-profits, and media companies, all coming together to ‘share their strength’ in the fight to end childhood hunger in America. Introductions were made, connections formed, offers of help were extended and accepted. Hunger makes strange bedfellows – I saw numerous instances of companies that are fiercely competitive putting aside their differences to work on this problem together.
Second, most of our discussions with Share Our Strength had focused on the fund-raising, and not on what was being done with the funds, and that is a big part of the Conference. It was inspiring to hear how families are learning to prepare healthy meals on a budget through Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters™ program. And to hear how various states are working with Share Our Strength to identify available Federal programs to help end childhood hunger among their children. And to learn how the smallest grants—in one case, simply to buy a refrigerator for a feeding center—can make such a difference in grantees’ ability to serve their kids.
And third, the Conference tapped into some very strong emotions. I was angry when a Federal official mentioned that doctors must ask as part of a Medicaid intake physical when the last time a child last ate, and what he had to eat. And I thought that no doctor in this country should have to ask that question. I was moved to tears when a television chef shared that, in his neighborhood, “Can I stay over with you tonight?” was not REALLY asking for a sleepover. It was code for ‘We have nothing to eat at our house tonight – can you feed me dinner?’ I was shocked at my ignorance about summertime meals—though I knew about school lunch and school breakfast, I had never, ever thought about how kids who get two meals at school during the year eat during the summer.
The single biggest outcome since attending my first Conference of Leaders is that I have gone from being an advocate for the Great American Bake Sale to an advocate for Share Our Strength and the childhood hunger issue. I’ve been fortunate to be able to ‘share my strength’ in a number of ways that might not have occurred to me before attending Conference. I’ve reached out to members of my professional network to solicit their support for the No Kid Hungry® Campaign and brainstormed ideas for using marketing techniques to get the word out to the community Share Our Strength serves. I’ve also managed to put aside some of my own competitive instincts to embrace new sponsors of the Great American Bake Sale, some of whom compete for the same ‘share of dessert’ we do.
Sure, other conferences I’ll attend this year will be interesting. I expect I’ll learn something and make valuable business contacts. But I’m confident that no other conference will stay with me and inspire me like the Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders.
September 12, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: conference of leaders, no kid hungry
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