Run Your Own Dermer Dreams Food Drive!

How it works:

• Dermer Dreams delivers the Neighborhood Captain donation bags 2 weeks before the food drive.
• The Captains distributes the bags to anyone they want a week before the food drive.
• On the dat of the food drive, the student, along with a parent or adult over 18, picks up the donations and delivers them to the Dermer Dreams drop site.
• Upon delivery, the Captains receives a certificate for 10 Hours of Community Service that can be used toward your requirements for high school, honor society, university applications or other organizations.
• If you part of a team, please make sure to indicate your team name when you register as a captain.

It is the Captain's job to manage the program from start to finish. Your goal is to create your own food drive and collect as much food that will go directly on the plate of someone who is hungry.

Main Program Points:

1. The Neighborhood Captain decides how to distribute the donation bags: Distribute the bags to consecutive homes in your town or to family and people you know. Some captains give multiple bags to people they know. This decision is up to you. Put some thought into it because this will determine if your food drive is successful.
2. Adding a message from you inside the bag: It is your decision if you want to include a message inside the bag from you. Some of the most successful food drives are when Captains add something personal in addition to our letter. Some Captains offer personal pick times where the donor could text them to pick up their bag.
3. A PARENT OR ADULT IS REQUIRED: If you are under the age of 18, you are required to get a parent or adult 18 or older who will drive the vehicle when you are picking up and delivering the donation bags from the homes to our drop site.  In order for the parent or adult to drive the vehicle, they must have a legal driver's license and the proper auto insurance in place. Whichever vehicle you decide to use, you and your parent/guardian use the vehicle at 100% your own risk.
4. The student must figure out the best way to transport the food donations from your town to our drop-site.  It is your responsibility to figure out how you will pick up the bags: Some options:
   • The parent or adult drives your family car.
   • The parents or adult borrows and drives a vehicle from someone you know.
   • The parents or adult rents a U-Haul or similar vehicle.

View our Frequently Asked Questions in our Go-To Guide.

If you have any questions, please email us at neighborhoodcaptain@dermerdreams.org.