Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bobby DeLancellotti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Bobby , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Our nonprofit, the Estero Bay Kindness Coalition was only 2 years old when the pandemic hit. Prior to the pandemic we were implementing 1 food program, Got Your Back, in several elementary schools in the San Luis Obispo Unified School District. Got Your Back provides meals on the weekends for food insecure kids who rely on “reduced/hot lunch” at school to eat during the week, ensuring they don’t go hungry on Saturdays and Sundays.

In March 2020, when schools closed their doors, our organization met with local principals to find a way to continue to feed the kids who needed it most. We immediately started delivering bags of groceries to their homes and went from feeding kids on the weekends to feeding whole families for the week.

Because of the pandemic, we created our 2nd food program, Bags of Love. Through this program we deliver 2 bags of protein rich meals and snacks and 1 bag of fresh, often local fruits and veggies to the doorsteps of the kids and families we previously served on the weekends. The number of people we served tripled, virtually overnight, not to mention our budget. We were forced out of our comfort zone to grow in order to meet the growing needs of our community.

During this time we also created our 3rd program, Sunshine and Seed, a kids clothing collective providing a free shopping experience for those in need of new and gently used clothing items and shoes. We also hired a part time grant writer and publicist to help raise awareness about our organization and raise the funds needed to keep our programs afloat.

We currently implement all 3 programs on a weekly basis and have increased our part time employee to full time! So much has happened in the last 2 years. The pandemic has shaken all of us to the core, pushed us out of our safe place into a vulnerable one. I see now that we needed to be vulnerable in order to grow. It took the pandemic to make us think outside of the box, to get creative, and to call on our community for support.

If someone told me our organization would grow during a world wide pandemic, I would have thought they were crazy. But it takes a leap of faith–takes jumping off the cliff in order for our angels to catch us–and I believe the timing was perfect, and divine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My work began as a pastor of a small church on the Central Coast of California. Our church was not a building stuffed with legalistic rules and closed minded people, it was an open invitation to family, to community, to inclusivity. It was a safe place for all to enter. My hero is Mother Teresa and my heart has always been for people. Our church had an active food pantry and we implemented many outreaches to show love and care for our community. We also started a Thanksgiving dinner at the Vets Hall for those who had no place to go. 35 years later, the dinner is still happening, feeding hundreds and providing turkeys to families who can’t afford them.

After several decades, I decided my pastoral days of service were finished and started working for Lifewater International as the Church Mobilizer and Lead Advocate promoting clean water as a global effort. After 3 years at Lifewater, I had to step down due to health related issues.

So here I am, in my mid-sixties, unemployed and unaware of where my path would take me. It was a dark, vulnerable time, but out of the darkness, I transformed. I discovered my new calling.

In December 2017, I met with the principal at Del Mar Elementary school in Morro Bay, CA to inquire about how I could serve the most vulnerable students during the holidays. The principal connected me with 10 families who couldn’t afford to buy their kids Christmas gifts. I found a few friends who wanted to help and we bought each kid 2 gifts: a fun gift and a practical gift and gave their parents a $100.00 gift card to a local supermarket. In January, the principal sent me a letter thanking me for the impact the gifts had on the families. She also informed him that 64% of the students at Del Mar were living at or below the poverty line. This broke my heart, so I decided to do something about it.

In March 2018, I started Got Your Back, a program that helps feed kids over the weekend, providing 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners, healthy snacks, fruit, milk, and juice to each kid enrolled. The kids in this program rely on “hot/reduced lunch” at school to eat during the week and would often go hungry on the weekends. By June 2018, Estero Bay Kindness Coalition was serving 48 students with Got Your Back. The following school year, it jumped to 8 schools and over 200 students in the SLO Unified School District. During this time, our organization became a nonprofit 501 C-3. By the 2019 school year, we were feeding over 200 children in 8 schools.

The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition began organically and has grown tremendously over the last few years with 2 food programs, 1 clothing collective, and our annual holiday gift program.

I never would have imagined starting up a nonprofit organization, in my 60’s (when most people retire), but my work isn’t over yet. Serving my community is what I live for. It’s work for good, for the betterment of others, and it’s work that’s enriching and soul satisfying.

Our mission is to bring the 4 corners of our community together, for-profits, nonprofits, churches, and schools to serve the greater good and those living on the margins in the Estero Bay area. The Estero Bay Kindness Coalition has built a team of over 60+ volunteers, 2 team leaders, and 2 food pantries. We’re currently partnered with 8 schools, 31 for-profits, 21 nonprofits, and 10 churches. Our motto is to spread KINDNESS in an often unkind world and to plant seeds of love on California’s beautiful Central Coast.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

After pastoring a church for 30+ years I began working at Lifewater International as Church Mobilizer and Lead Advocate promoting clean water as a global effort. Working for Lifewater was a huge pivot in my career. It required constant travel throughout California, the United States, all the way to Zambia, Africa. During this time, I developed back issues with debilitating pain. I was torn between making a living and taking care of my body. Ultimately, my body made the decision for me: I had to stop traveling.

Recovering from back surgery without a job to go back to was terrifying. Here I am, in my mid-sixties, without a job (and not because I was retired!), without job skills outside pastoring and my work at Lifewater. This was a dark time for me as well as a time of deep trust and surrender.

I started volunteering at a local church during my free time. From here, I met the principal at Del Mar Elementary who connected me with families in need during the holidays. I got a few friends from the church to help me purchase gifts for families in need and little did I know that was the beginning, the birth of my future nonprofit, the Estero Bay Kindness Coalition.

Sometimes the pivot happens without your hands on the wheel. I’m learning to trust the bigger process and walk forward in faith, even when I’m afraid.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

All of the funds for our organization are raised through donations, fundraising, and grants. Fostering a healthy relationship with our donors and community members is of upmost importance in order for our programs to stay afloat. We use a software through Network for Good where we track of all of our weekly, monthly, annual donations. When we receive a donation we reply immediately with a personal text video message thanking them for their donation and informing them of how their money is being used to help kids and families. If we don’t have a donor’s cell phone number we sent an email or handwritten “thank you” depending on the information they’ve given us. We also send out a monthly newsletter to keep our supporters up to date with our programs, upcoming events, exciting news, etc.. We’re also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and try to post daily.

Showing our donors, partners, volunteers, and community members how thankful we are for their support is the fuel that keeps us going. We couldn’t do the work we do without them. We make a substantial effort to communicate our gratitude with them as much as possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://esterobaykindnesscoalition.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esterobaykindness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esterobaykindnessco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-delancellotti-7aa942232/
• Other: https://esterobaykindnesscoalition.org/contact-1

Image Credits
Teddy Borja