Left: Expedia employee Nelly Finch works on creating a travel-themed structure at the company headquarters in Bellevue on Thursday. Right: A canned food White House. Expedia employees collected 10,000 pounds of food for the event that will be donated to Hopelink. - Chad Coleman / Bellevue Reporter
Chad Coleman / Bellevue Reporter
Left: Expedia employee Nelly Finch works on creating a travel-themed structure at the company headquarters in Bellevue on Thursday. Right: A canned food White House. Expedia employees collected 10,000 pounds of food for the event that will be donated to Hopelink.

Expedia's CANstruction event nets 10,000 pounds of food for Hopelink


July 23, 2009 · 8:05 PM

  • 0
  • Print Story
  • Letter/Editor

Employees at the Expedia headquarters on Thursday built elaborate exhibits with food items destined for Hopelink.

The Bellevue-based online-travel company has been gathering donations from its 1,600 main-office workers since June 23, when the drive kicked off during Taste of Bellevue. Over 800 pounds of food were collected that day, with a total of 10,000 pounds overall since then.

Expedia executives pledged to donate $1 for every pound of food collected during the drive.

Employees teamed up on Thursday for what was dubbed a "CANstruction" competition, in which they stacked food items to build travel-themed structures including a Mayan temple, a cruise ship, the White House, and the Space Needle – complete with a Seattle Seahawks "12th Man" flag.

"We had a lot of imagination," said Cindy Greenfield, team leader for the group that constructed the cruise ship.

Most of the structures were built in under three hours, with cans and boxes stacked precariously for judges and employees to evaluate.

The workday ended with workers touring the exhibit and participating in an outside reception.

"It's really all about giving to the community and having fun," said Expedia spokeswoman Megan Prine. "Expedia's all about fun."

Awards went out for best in show, best team spirit, best use of the most-needed foods, and people's choice.

Comment on this story.

Community Blogroll

  • Cliff Mass Weather Blog
    Cliff Mass is a UW professor of Atmospheric Sciences. He blogs about the local in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Diverse|City
    A multicultural reporter's eye on race, traditions and lifestyles here together in the Northwest.
COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.

So keep your comments:

  • Civil
  • Smart
  • On-topic
  • Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters. We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.

blog comments powered by Disqus