Shoreline Business Competing in Hopelink Can Madness

Toni&Guy Hairdressing Academy in Shoreline is among the full slate of 25 local businesses competing in Hopelink’s fourth annual Can Madness competitive food drive to help stock the agency’s five food banks. The first weigh-in will
take place Friday (March 8) and the competition will continue until the winner is crowned April 5.

The drive is patterned after the famous national spring college basketball tournament, matching businesses in  weekly competitions to see which one can bring in the most food. Each week, the winning business in every bracket will advance to the following week. Last year, Toni&Guy Hairdressing Academy advanced to the final four in the competition before losing to Guild Mortgage of Kirkland. This week, the Shoreline business faces off against Hallmark Realty of Kirkland.

Last year, 32 businesses collected 23,535 pounds of food and more than $3,000 in cash donations to help feed local families who are working to get back on their feet. Three-time tournament winner Hancock’s Bakery in Redmond brought in a total of 7,590 pounds during the competition, edging out Guild Mortgage of Kirkland in the final. The Kirkland business collected a total of 7,598 pounds during the tournament but finished second in overall scoring.

To ensure that businesses of all sizes are able to compete on a level playing field, the competition uses a unique scoring system: the total pounds of food donated by a business are divided by the total number of employees, resulting in a competitive “score.”

Teams are bracketed together in pairs and one winner from each 2-member bracket will advance to the following week.

Hopelink Can Madness 2013 participants:

Redmond:

180 Degrees Chiropractic

Falco Sult & Company

Frederick's Appliance Center

Hancock's Bakery

JJ Mahoney's Pub

Magellan Architects

Precision Electric Group, Inc.

Redmond Physical Therapy

Roos Orthodontics

Kirkland:

Guild Mortgage Kirkland

Hallmark Realty

Lake WA Physical Therapy

Lift Pilates

Lil 'People's World

Washington Federal

Bellevue:

HomeStreet Bank

Malawi Seattle Association

Massage Center of Bellevue

Samena Swim & Recreation Club

TJ Maxx (Factoria)

Shoreline/Bothell:

CMC Biologics (Bothell)

Toni&Guy Hairdressing Academy (Shoreline)

Woodinville:

North Sound Interiors

Seattle:

F5 Networks Inc

UW Medical Center

The competition is in its fourth year and was the brainchild of Lake WashingtonPhysical Therapy’s Ben Wobker as a way for local businesses to help stock Hopelink’s five food banks during the time when holiday donations traditionally taper off.