On the Leesh Productions

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Josh gets his training on, but....how'd it go?

Josh is done with LAZY! He's back, working out extreme style, and rethinking all those extra doughnuts.

Filmed December 1, 2013

Featuring - Josh Zitomer
Produced by - On the Leesh Productions

For more information on Extreme Tendencies, please visit:
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/extremetendencies
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/extremetenden...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/extremetend
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/extremetend

For more information on On the Leesh Productions, please visit:
Website - http://www.ontheleesh.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ontheleeshpr...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ontheleesh
Blog - http://www.ontheleesh.blogspot.com

For more information on Josh Zitomer, please visit:
Website - http://www.physicalfix.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/physicalfix
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/physicalfix
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/physicalfix

Are YOU Extreme Enough? Check out our challenge for January.

Ever wonder if you could get your extreme on? Well, this January, Josh is giving you the chance to join him and you don't even need to leave your house!

Let us know what you think - More details to come.

Featuring - Josh Zitomer
Produced by - On the Leesh Productions

For more information on Extreme Tendencies, please visit:
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/extremetendencies
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/extremetenden...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/extremetend
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/extremetend

For more information on On the Leesh Productions, please visit:
Website - http://www.ontheleesh.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ontheleeshpr...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ontheleesh
Blog - http://www.ontheleesh.blogspot.com

For more information on Josh Zitomer, please visit:
Website - http://www.physicalfix.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/physicalfix
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/physicalfix
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/physicalfix

Monday, December 2, 2013

Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews The Food Pantry in San Francisco California.

This holiday season, What You Can Do is teaming up with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen to help raise awareness and fight hunger in New York City. As 1 in every 5 New Yorkers face hunger, Holy Apostles plays a crucial role in providing food, support and hope to people in need.

The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations that are inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. Over 49 million Americans are facing hunger today, with more than 15 million of that number being children.

We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their areas etc.

Our third spotlight this season is on The Food Pantry, a hunger relief organization that helps provide free groceries to families in need, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

An interview with Sara Miles, founder of The Food Pantry, in San Francisco California.

WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization and the community that you serve.

The Food Pantry offers free, fresh groceries to about 450 hungry families every week. We are a community-run organization, all-volunteer, staffed by the people who use the pantry.

WYCD: How long have you been in operation?

Since 2000.

WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last few years?

Our numbers go up when times are hard; we anticipate more visitors if food stamp benefits are cut.

WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last several years?

(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)

The incredibly high housing costs in the San Francisco Bay Area mean that we see a lot of working families, as well as elders, who ae simply unable to pay rent and to buy enough food.

WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?

Housing, poverty, immigration.

WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?

We are all-volunteer. Glad to take individual volunteers of all ages, but we can't accommodate groups.

WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals that you provide?

We provide a lot of fresh produce.

WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to give?

It costs us just one dollar to buy groceries for a family each week; $50 will feed a family for a year. Donations of money are far more effective than donations of food, though we appreciate getting fresh produce from neighbors who have fruit trees or gardens.

We want to send many thanks to Sara Miles at The Food Pantry for sharing her insight on hunger in the San Francisco Bay Area with us. With hunger on the rise across the country in recent years, The Food Pantry's team of volunteers inspires us about how to participate in programs to help feed hungry people in our communities. No matter what the size these relief organizations are helping to make a big difference in our world.

If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the The Food Pantry website at: www.thefoodpantry.org

If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC

To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:

www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos

@whatyoucando

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City

The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. Over 49 million Americans are facing hunger today, with more than 15 million of that number being children.

We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.

Our second spotlight this season is the Utah Food Bank, a hunger relief organization based out of Salt Lake City, Utah.

An interview with Heidi Cannella, Communications Specialist for the Utah Food Bank, in Salt Lake City.

WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization and the community that you serve.

1 in 6 Utahns are at risk of missing at least one meal per day. This equates to 472,000 Utahns, or 17% of our population. Even more alarming is that 1 in 5 kids are unsure where their next meal is coming from. With the help of our generous supporters last year, we were able to distribute 36.3 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of over 28 million meals. We are not a direct distribution center, but instead distribute food to a statewide network of 130 partner agencies, who then distribute it to our clients.

WYCD: How long have you been in operation?

Utah Food Bank was founded in 1904 as the Salt Lake Charity Association. Over its 100 years of operation under various names and in various forms, Utah Food Bank has remained committed to serving Utah's citizens in need.

WYCD: What types of services do you provide to your community?

Utah Food Bank’s primary service is our emergency food assistance program, through which we distribute food to a statewide network of 130 partner agencies such as emergency food pantries, congregate feeding sites (i.e. soup kitchens), and partner agencies. Last year we distributed over 36.3 million pounds of food statewide - the equivalent of over 28.4 million meals. We have several direct service programs that we offer as well:

Kids Cafe: Utah Food Bank's Kids Cafe provides up to 1,730 hot, nutritious meals daily to children in low-income after-school programs at schools, community centers and after-school programs around Salt Lake County. We utilize 30 after-school sites to offer this service to kids who may go home and not be fed any dinner and were able to distribute over 200,000 meals in this manner.

BackPack Program: Through this program, Utah Food Bank provides packages of nutritious, nonperishable foods to many Utah schools. A designated school employee will load packs of food into children’s backpacks at the end of every week. The packs are filled with food items that are non-perishable, kid-friendly, and require little-to-no preparation and contain items such as milk, tuna, instant macaroni and cheese, canned pasta meals such as Spaghetti-Os, vegetables and fruit cups. When the child returns on Monday, they give the pack to the school who fill it again and send it home the following Friday. Last year we distributed over 69,000 backpacks to kids in Utah.

UFB Food Box Program: Seniors, children and persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable people UFB serves. Too often, daily expenses cut into limited retirement budgets, and seniors go hungry rather than neglect a utility bill or their medication. More than 3,600 low-income seniors and persons with disabilities receive a box of non-perishable food (and some perishables as they are available) each month from Utah Food Bank through the UFB Food Box Program. These boxes are hand-delivered by volunteers, and we distributed 41,195 food boxes statewide last year.

Mobile Pantry: We have a refrigerated vehicle that allows us to serve food items to populations who are underserved by brick and mortar pantries alone. This could be to a lack of available transportation. We pull up to a designated site (typically monthly), set out tables and food, then the line moves through as we distribute the food. Last year, we visited approximately 650 mobile pantry sites, which served an estimated 13,000 people.

WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last few years?

Unfortunately, we have no reliable source of data regarding the number of people we serve as our partner agencies are the ones who see our clients. There is a lot of duplication and cross-over (i.e. clients utilizing more than one service or pantry), so we actually don’t know how many people we serve. We do know that despite our efforts to fight hunger, we are continually expanding our distribution, so this tells us that the need is nowhere near solved. The way that we track the number of people we serve is through how many meals we serve, which has remained around an average of 28.3 million meals for the past two years.

WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last several years?

(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)

We do not track demographics for similar reasons as [the question before], but we are hearing that the people using our services are using them longer than in the past (it is taking longer for people to get back on their feet), and that a larger number of those we serve are working poor – they have so far to go to get caught up that they need more assistance than in the past. Another trend we are seeing is that people are underemployed – they may have gone back to work but with lower pay, so are unable to cover all their bills – sadly, food is typically the last expense that gets covered.

WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?

Utah Food Bank strongly believes that our biggest issue is childhood hunger in our state, where 1 in 5 kids are unsure where their next meal will come from. With 1 in 6 Utahns living below the poverty level (roughly 472,000 people), we have a long way to go to help these kids, and their parents, to become food secure.

WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?

We see a continually increasing rise, year-over-year, in the number of volunteer hours that we use. Last year, we utilized over 103,000 volunteer hours, or the equivalent of 49 full-time employees. We could not distribute 36.3 million pounds of food if we had to pay 49 additional employees, so rely heavily on our volunteers. Our holiday time frame is our busiest time of year for volunteers, and spots can book up to a year in advance during the holidays. Summer is probably our slowest time for volunteers – people are busy with summer activities and also there are fewer school groups who come to volunteer.

WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals that you provide?

We almost always ask for food that is highly nutritious, low in sodium and sugar, and high in protein. Peanut butter, tuna, boxed meals, pasta, etc. Macaroni & cheese is always in high demand from the kids we serve.

WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to give?

We always ask for 3 things – food, time, or money. If someone has 1 minute to give, they can like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter – this will help them to become more aware of the issue of hunger. If they have 2 minutes, they could share one of our posts with their friends, thereby advocating for all those in need for our state, and spreading the word about our mission. People can text UTAH to 50555 to donate $10. Donating online only takes a few minutes, and the fact that we turn $1 into $8 worth of goods and services means that their financial donations go even further than donations of food. We even have a way to “shop” for specific food items online through our “Virtual Food Drive.” Another quick and easy way to help is by dropping off food donations at one of the many drop-off locations statewide. With more time, they could organize neighborhood or community group food drives, or even volunteer here at our warehouse or at one of our partner agencies.

We want to send many thanks to the Utah Food Bank team for sharing their insight on hunger in Utah with us. With hunger on the rise across the country in recent years, their team inspired us with ideas to spread awareness and help hungry people in our communities.

If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the Utah Food Bank website at: www.utahfoodbank.org
@utahfoodbank

If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC

To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:

www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos

@whatyoucando

Friday, November 22, 2013

Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews Philabundance of Philadelphia, PA.

The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. As a nation over 49 million Americans are facing hunger today, with over 15 million of that number being children. We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.

We will first spotlight Philabundance, a hunger relief organization based out of Philadelphia, PA and servicing the Delaware Valley.

An interview with Lindsey Bues, Public Relations Coordinator for Philabundance in Philadelphia.

WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization and the community that you serve.

Philabundance reduces hunger and food insecurity in the Delaware Valley by providing food access to people in need in partnership with organizations and individuals. As the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger relief organization, Philabundance provides a full plate of services to 72,000 people each week through neighborhood distribution programs and a network of close to 500 member food pantries, shelters and emergency kitchens in 9 counties.

WYCD: How long have you been in operation?

Philabundance has been operating since 1984 - 2014 will be our 30^th anniversary.

WYCD: What types of services do you provide to your community?

Philabundance works to provide our neighbors with access to nutritious foods. We do that through a network of close to 500 partner food pantries, shelters and emergency kitchens. We also provide access to food through our direct neighborhood distribution programs like Fresh For All and KidsBites.

Fresh For All is like a traveling farmers market providing free fresh produce to people who need it most. We have 10 locations that set up on the same day at the same time every week. Fresh For All provides about 7 pounds of produce to approximately 200 households at each site. In 2012, the program distributed 2.2 million pounds of produce.

KidsBites was launched to ensure that kids across the Delaware Valley have the food they need to thrive and grow. Philabundance partners with local elementary schools to provide nutritious food staples to kids and their families every month.

WYCD: If you offer a variety of services, which ones are the most popular and why do you think that is?

Philabundance and our partners are seeing more people than ever before come to us for food. There are 900,000 people at risk of hunger in the Delaware Valley. All of our programs and all of our partner food pantries, emergency kitchens and shelters are all feeling the strain. SNAP/Food stamp program was cut across the board on November 1 which has put an even greater strain on the charitable food network.

WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last few years?

We have experienced a 98% increase in need over the last three years.

WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last several years?

(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)

Over the last few years we have seen the face of hunger change. It is no longer just in the inner city or in rural areas; it touches every single zip code in the Delaware Valley. There are people who used to give to us who are now benefitting from our services.

WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the Philadelphia region?

Food insecurity is a major issue across the country, let alone across the Philadelphia region. There are 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley at risk of hunger and we work every day to make sure those people have a place to get the food they need and to prevent them from falling through the holes in the hunger safety net.

WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?

We tend to see an increase in volunteers around the holidays but we have 17,000 volunteers who come through our doors each year who help us sort and pack all of the food that comes in as well as people who volunteer at our direct neighborhood distribution service. We couldn’t do what we do without their support.

WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals that you provide?

We try to focus on providing foods that are nutritious. About 32% of the food we distributed in Fiscal Year 2013 (which runs from Oct 1 to Sept 30) was produce.

WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to give?

Philabundance can provide two meals for every dollar donated. By logging on to www.Philabundance.org and making a donation, you will be making a huge difference in the lives of so many people in the region who can’t afford to buy enough food to feed their families.

Those who may have a little more than a minute can hold a food drive or event or sign up to volunteer. For more information, please visit www.philabundance.org or call 215-339-0900.

Many thanks to the Philabundance team for sharing their insight on hunger in the Delaware Valley region with us. With hunger rising in the Philadelphia area and across the country in recent years, their team inspires us with the power of collaboration to help solve hunger and other problems in our communities. If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the Philabundance website at: http://www.philabundance.org
@Philabundance

If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC

To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:

www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos

@whatyoucando

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Fighting hunger, one meal at a time: Interview from the Holy Apostles Fast-A-Thon

Our sponsorship guru Kristin Thomas is participating in the Fast-A-Thon hosted by Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, the largest soup kitchen in New York City, today. She committed to eating just one meal, the same way many of the soup kitchen guests do. All money raised from sponsorship will go towards food costs for the winter - it's one of the soup kitchen's busiest times, with up to 1,400 people a day coming in for a hot meal.

Kristin shared her thoughts on her Fast-A-Thon experience so far and her passion for fighting hunger:

Can you share why you decided to participate in the Fast-A-Thon?

I wanted to show my support to Holy Apostles and represent the What You Can Do team. Plus my uncle was a pastor and a huge activist for the homeless and fighting hunger in the US. I learned from him ways to help others in need. This is just one day with 1 meal for me while others fight this daily in their lives. I wish I could do more but I didn't hesitate taking the Holy Apostles Fast-A-Thon challenge.

How do you feel after several hours with no food?

Well I decided to go into the office to work today because I could tell I was getting edgy and spastic. I have been
thinking of food since I woke up this morning. Non-stop thinking of meals and second guessing why I took the challenge so I can eat. It's more of a mind game this morning than anything. I'm sure as the hours go on, my mental state will change.

Do the liquids you are allowed to drink help the hunger?

The coffee and water are really helping. It hasn't stop my food craving because I keep thinking about bagels but it does make you feel like you're staying hydrated. I'm thankful for the coffee.

Does hunger affect your ability to focus on work?

The funny thing is I have worked non-stop because I'm trying not to focus on food. The work is a great distraction.

Does this experience so far change your view on people facing hunger every day?

Of course but I have always been someone that has been proactive about fighting hunger since I was in high school because of my uncle's influence. I know there are people struggling to get at least one meal a day and it breaks my heart. I have seen families outside waiting for the soup kitchens to open to feed their children. Our world isn't perfect but if each of us can lend a hand we can work to fight hunger, one person at a time.

Check out our video below to learn how the Holy Apostles Fast-A-Thon will help the 1 in 5 New Yorkers facing hunger. To make a donation and for more information, visit: http://www.fastathon.causevox.com/

Wrapping up 2013 or Josh is a LAZY BUM!

What's the extreme plan for 2014? You tell us! We're scheduling now, and you get to pick. Write in and let us know - remember, the crazier and more out there the better.

But perhaps the big question is - Mr. Zitomer, are you getting soft?

Filmed November 15th, 2013

Featuring - Josh Zitomer
Produced by - On the Leesh Productions

For more information on Extreme Tendencies, please visit:
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/extremetendencies
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/extremetenden...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/extremetend
Instagram - http://www.instagram.com/extremetend

For more information on On the Leesh Productions, please visit:
Website - http://www.ontheleesh.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ontheleeshpr...
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ontheleesh
Blog - http://www.ontheleesh.blogspot.com

For more information on Josh Zitomer, please visit:
Website - http://www.physicalfix.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/physicalfix
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/physicalfix
YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/physicalfix