Celebrating this season of love, you might enjoy learning what White Pony Express has done as it spread love in our community this year, embracing all.



In 2017, WPE went from great idea to established fact, as a part of the fabric of how Contra Costa takes care of itself. We began hiring staff to create more strength and flexibility for the long run, ending the year with 14 employees as dedicated as our volunteers. We acquired sophisticated software to help us with our very complex logistics, and other areas of management. Two new Whole Foods and one Trader Joe's store joined us, and Performance Foods became our first wholesale donor. We added several new recipient organizations in Food Rescue as well.

Our Food Rescue runners delivered almost 2,000,000 pounds of food to those on the margins, and our Free General Store (FGS) made many new friends with the creation of a Developmental Toy program for children 1-5. FGS also collaborated with many organizations to ensure that this year’s Cold Weather Clothing (CWC) Program provides warm clothing for every homeless person in Contra Costa. More than 10,000 items of warm clothing will be distributed for the third winter in a row. Our donors provided over $1,000,000 in operating funds to make this possible—and we can still deliver to our friends in need $6.00 worth of food or clothing for every $1.00 donated.

All of this has encouraged us to expand our programs in 2018, which you will hear more about later. We hope you all can feel our appreciation and gratitude for the role you play in WPE's success. Together we  are  White Pony Express.

One high school student can make a huge impact on our community. Marshall Walters is a perfect example of this concept. Marshall heard about White Pony Express and wanted to get involved. He started volunteering as a navigator at WPE every weekend. Then, the senior at Monte Vista High School started a White Pony Express Club on his high school campus in Danville. Through the club he created, Marshall began organizing food drives on campus. With Marshall’s encouragement, Monte Vista students have collected and donated the food to White Pony Express for distribution. In the past month, these students have collected over 150 pounds of food.

If Marshall's story inspires you to get involved, contact Mandy Nakaya or Megan McCalister for information on WPE volunteer opportunities at: (925) 818-6361

You may know that WPE has a high standard of quality for everything it distributes. Our standard is that “It must be good enough to serve to our own family or give to a close loved one.” Many don’t know why, as such a standard reduces significantly the quantity we could distribute.

These standards arise from our Guiding Principle of “Unity”. If we give others lower quality than what we would wear or eat, it sends a not very subtle message that they are less than we. “Unity” is inconsistent with such a message. We want those we serve to see and feel the love and respect in which we hold them. When we give, we are trying to send the message that “you and I are one”, that we are in this together as close kin. Our goal is to uplift lives.

Remember when you are doing your online shopping at  Amazon Smile , a portion of your purchase will be donated to White Pony Express. Feel twice as good by shopping for a cause. Thank you to those who named White Pony Express as their nonprofit of choice. 

Curious about the program? Read more here:  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/about/ref=smi_se_dshb_aas_saas