From left: Sydney Start, Kelly Byers and Sam Deadman

Kelly Byers, a sales rep with Sutton Group – Right Way Real Estate in Woodstock, Ont. recently organized a food drive for the second year in a row. With the help of more than 100 volunteers from her office and other local real estate companies, 10,000 pounds of food was collected from area residents in just two hours.

Byers spent approximately 100 hours planning and organizing. Once she confirmed the Salvation Army’s requirements and storage capacity, she mapped the canvassing routes in Woodstock and Ingersoll. Then she drove the routes to confirm that they were feasible within the two-hour timeframe. Starting six weeks prior to the food drive, she designed and sent out flyers and emails to recruit volunteers and remind people about the event.  The secret to their success was communication. 

“I think we did so well because of door-to-door canvassing. More than 100 volunteers including Realtors and their clients dropped off flyers in mailboxes two days prior to the food drive to make sure people knew we were coming,” says Byers.  On the day of the event, ID badges were ready and routes and volunteers were confirmed.