This event has two main purposes:
FIRST: Collect food donations for the local Food Pantry (Tabitha’s Way Food Pantry – North).
SECOND: Have a gift exchange between participating geocachers.
This event will be held at Rotary Park on Saturday, December 7th at 12:30 PM and will last approximately 30 minutes so don’t be late.
If the weather is REALLY bad, the location will be moved to my home, 286 Orchard Ave. It's about 1 1/2 blocks away. (Orchard Ave is between 200 and 300 East. There is a southern section of Orchard Ave directly south of the park, but it's the wrong section.)
Since this is December and it will likely be chilly outside, we plan to have some hot cocoa available.
Food Donations
This is an opportunity to help provide badly needed food for local people who are in great need of everyone’s (that is OUR) help. Please give generously if you can. A little or lot--it doesn't matter--they will be grateful for anything.
We will combine all donations into a single vehicle (wouldn't it be nice if we needed more than one) and deliver them to the food pantry immediately after the event.
Here is a list of their "Most Wanted" food donations and a list of items they cannot take.
Food Pantry Most Wanted Food List
Canned Meats (ie, tuna, chicken, salmon); Canned and boxed meals (ie. soup, chili, stew, macaroni & cheese); Peanut Butter (and other nut butters); Canned or dried beans (ie. black, pinto, lentils); Pasta and Rice; Cereal (ie. boxed, oatmeal, cream of wheat); 100% Fruit or Vegetable Juice (ie. canned, plastic or boxed); Cooking oil; Baking Mixes; Shelf-stable Milk; Canned Fruits and Vegetables; Baby Essentials (ie. formula, food, snacks).
The Pantry Cannot Use: Rusty or unlabeled cans, homemade items, non-commercial canned or packaged items, alcoholic beverages or mixes, open or used items.
Christmas Gift Exchange
Participation in the Christmas Gift Exchange is optional but if you participate, you must follow these steps.
STEP ONE: Get a nice gift another geocacher would like: gift card, un-activated geocoins, Travel Bug dog tags, swag items, cache containers, etc.) If it isn’t geocaching-related, it should be something anyone would like. Please use your own judgment in selecting your gift item(s). Make sure costs under $20. Remember, this isn't a permanent cache hide, so it is okay to include glass and/or food items it you like--just make sure they're well protected inside the container.
STEP TWO: You may put it in an inexpensive container (tupperware, christmas tin, etc) if you like or something more durable (like an ammo can). Before you come to the event, hide it somewhere within 5 miles of the event location, to be found later that day. You may want to fill the remaining space in the container with candy. Just be sure your container is weather-resistant and critter-proof. Don't forget to get a good waypoint for your hidden gift and write it down for Step Three.
STEP THREE: Write your Caching Name and the Waypoint of your hidden gift on a piece of paper and place it inside a micro-sized container and bring that container to the event to be exchanged with another geocacher. It would be a good idea to include a good hint and/or your cell phone number just in case the seeker needs a little help to find their gift. Don’t make it a more than 1.5/1.5 hide—this is supposed to be an easy find. Your caching name in the micro container with the waypoint will make sure the recipient knows who to thank for their gift.
STEP FOUR: At the event we will put all the micro containers in a paper bag and mix them up. Everyone who places a micro container in the bag will then be able to take another one from the bag. You may put more than one micro container in the bag but there must be another Christmas cache hidden for each micro container placed in the bag or someone will be disappointed.
STEP FIVE: After the event activities are over we will leave to go find our hidden Christmas Cache. Remember, the entire cache is yours to keep--including the container--so make sure you take everything with you after the hunt. These containers are not to be left behind or published as a regular cache.
When you log the event as attended, please thank the cacher who hid your Christmas cache for the gift. You may share what your Christmas cache contained, if you like. Feel free to post pictures of the Christmas Cache too. You can even post a picture of the hiding spot since this is not a regular cache hide.