Go ahead, call Michelle Gosselin a dreamer.

She’ll probably smile, then ask you to vote for her dream.

It’s a big one. The director of development for Auburn-based Good Shepherd Food-Bank wants to turn a used beverage truck donated to Good Shepherd by Federal Distributors into a mobile food pantry, the first of its kind in New England.

Someday, says Laura Davis, Gosselin hopes to see her dream come true.

There’s more to it, though, than just Federal’s gift.

Gosselin’s full dream is a corker: That truck would be packed with 1 million pounds of food and driven to 538 shelters and food pantries in Maine’s 16 counties, feeding thousands of people. The nonprofit now serves all of the state, working through hundreds of food cupboards, rescue missions, soup kitchens and other agencies, but a mobile food pantry could expand its work to help it reach areas under-served by these agencies.

The dream was good enough to get the Good Shepherd a $1,000 check on Sunday. Good Shepherd and six other big dreamers received the money during “Dads Make a Difference Day” ceremonies on the Boston Common.

Good Shepherd and the other six dreamers are in the running for another $25,000 that will be awarded Saturday at Six Flags New England near Springfield, Mass.

They’re all contestants in Garelick Farms’ Over the Moon Dream BIG Contest.

The contest received entries from 200 New England communities, including several from the Lewiston-Auburn area, said Davis, a public relations specialist with Rinck Advertising. Rinck handles Garelick’s account.

People cast more than 13,000 votes for the 21 semifinalists in the past two weeks to pare the list of dreamers to seven.

“Good Shepherd did really well Sunday,” said Davis, who acknowledged a bit of partiality toward what she likened to her “hometown team,” noting that Rinck also has an office in Auburn.

She said she’ll be presenting Good Shepherd’s and others’ dreams to finalist judges Tuesday. They’ll make their decision in time for Saturday’s grand prize event.

Davis said Good Shepherd employees are making plans to charter a bus to take them to Six Flags for the event.

“They’re really excited,” she said, “and they have good reason to be. It’s a wonderful dream.”

She said people can visit Garelick Farms’ Web site at www.overthemoonmilk.com to vote for Good Shepherd or other dreamers. The dreams are outlined there as well.

Other dreamers include:

• East Boston Police Captain Robert Cunningham, who dreams of creating East Boston International Music Festival to celebrate diversity.

• Cheshire, Conn., teen sisters and founders of The CUREchief Foundation, Steph and Allie Centorio, who dream of providing fleece head scarves to 75,000 cancer patients.

• Newton, Mass., head custodian Ed Reardon, who dreams of underwriting the Cabot After School Program.

• Dorchester, Mass., teacher Rebecca Sargent of Dever Elementary School, who dreams of creating family days at her school.

• Rita Guariglia of the New Milford, Conn., Literacy Volunteers on the Green, who dreams of expanding literacy services and English as a second language to seven communities.

• Margaret Carroll, Leo Gauthier, Evelyn McNamara, Lois Salome of the Millville, Mass., Senior Center Building Committee, who dream of building a senior center in their town

Everyday across America, there are local heroes who have the courage to follow their dreams, notes Garelick Farms. So Garelick celebrated the launch of its latest product, Over the Moon milk, with a contest to make a New England dream come true.

“The response to the Over the Moon Dream BIG Contest has been overwhelming,” said Matt Samson, Garelick Farms’ marketing director. “We received 200 community dreams from northern Maine to southern Connecticut and everywhere in between. It has been so inspiring to see New Englanders dreaming about making their communities a better place.”

Garelick Farms, headquartered in Franklin, Mass., is one of the largest dairies in the northeastern United States.


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