The community won’t support you if they don’t know about you

Kevin Glackin-Coley always wanted to make the world a better place. This desire led him to Loyola University in Chicago. It was there that a mentor recognized his leadership potential and encouraged him to pursue a career in the social sector.

For the last 10 years Kevin has been the Director of the St. Leo Food Connection. The Connection is the largest food bank in the Tacoma WA metropolitan area, having served more than 137,000 meals last year alone. The Food Connection also distributes food through a backpack program in elementary schools and a mobile food bank.

As Kevin sees it, they do more than simply help hungry people get access to food. They are an education organization, since hungry kids can’t learn. They are a mental health portal, since many people with food insecurity also have underlying, often untreated, mental health conditions. They are an economic development organization, since businesses can’t succeed without workers and workers can’t succeed when they’re hungry.

Kevin speaks about these things and so much more. Click the player below to listen!

To learn more about Kevin or the St. Leo Food Connection, check out their website or Facebook page!

Click here to download as an MP3 (right click and choose “save as”).

In this episode, Kevin and Darren discuss:

Balancing an entrepreneurial spirit with mission creep.
Challenges a director faces in telling the story of your mission.
Why it’s better to hire staff who are excited by the mission than trying to “motivate” them.
The single most boring job at his food bank (hint: it’s his).
Why he’s not doing his job if he’s handing food to people.
Giving staff the freedom to be who they are.
The twin powers of persistence and optimism.
His book recommendation: The Brothers K by David James Duncan.
His advice for new directors: Work on things that will make the world a better place.

Kevin’s Magic Moment challenge: don’t think competitive, think collaborative.

We’re so glad you joined us!

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