Tucson nonprofits say giving at end of year is critically important to their operations

‘Tis the season of giving, and local businesses and nonprofits are making it easy for Tucsonans to extend it through the end of 2018 and beyond.

“A lot of people have heightened awareness about giving back this time of year, but not everyone can afford to make donations and not everyone has time to volunteer. This is a simple way for people to look in their pantries and see if there is food that has been there for a while and might be better off in the hands of the Community Food Bank,” said Jay Zucker, owner of The Maverick nightclub, which is sponsoring a Stuff the Monster Truck Food Drive on New Year’s Eve.

The event, which was last held in 2016, seeks to collect at least 8,000 pounds of food for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona in a 14-hour period.

Zucker said the celebration will include the blessing of a giant boot that will be raised by a crane to 100 feet over The Maverick at sunset. The boot will be lighted throughout New Year’s Eve and will be dropped at midnight.

“In Times Square, they drop the ball at midnight, and we are dropping the boot here in Tucson. It is really something to see. We are hoping that donations will come in throughout the day and evening, and even if folks have other plans and aren’t coming to the nightclub, we encourage them to stop by and make a donation,” said Zucker.

Zucker said he believes in supporting the food bank because it helps people in need of all ages, races and cultures.

Food drives of all sizes such as those sponsored by The Maverick — along with other businesses, individuals and groups in the community — are vital to the efforts of the Community Food Bank in alleviating hunger, said Norma Cable, food bank spokeswoman.

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“Food drives are in no way small to us. That is the way we operate: donations that come in from businesses who decide they will hold food drives or have donation jars at their cash registers ... all of that adds up to keep the Community Food Bank running and raise awareness about the fact that hunger is a big problem in our community: One in four children and one in five adults in Arizona face hunger every day,” said Cable.

Cable said raising awareness is especially critical since donations of food from the Winterhaven Festival of Lights, which ends Wednesday, Dec. 26, are down by 50 percent year to date. Entrance to the annual midtown neighborhood display of lights from 6 to 10 p.m. is free, but donations of canned food are requested. The final night is a drive-through, and Cable encourages those who haven’t visited to do so.

“Winterhaven is our second-largest food drive of the year and our goal is 55,000 pounds of food. We are really counting on that and hoping that people take advantage of the last few days and remember to bring food or monetary donations to support people who need help this holiday season,” she said.

For those who want to extend support for those in need to animals, Run Tucson is offering The Hair of the Dog New Year’s Day Run/Walk with a portion of proceeds going to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

“We wanted to do it outside when it was not 100 degrees, and New Year’s Day is a day when the weather is usually lovely,” said race co-director Linda Whalen.

The Humane Society — which currently houses about 60 dogs and 45 cats — is thrilled to be the recipient of funds, said Randy Peterson, Humane Society director of development.

Peterson said the event falls at the tail-end of the Humane Society’s prime fundraising season, with about 50 percent of its cash donations coming in the final four weeks of the year.