AUBURN — Maine’s credit unions will be honored with the JoAnn Pike Humanitarian Award at a dinner at Good Shepherd Food-Bank on April 3. Through the credit unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, Maine’s credit unions have been a leader in the fight against hunger for many years, in addition to supporting numerous other charitable causes throughout the state.

Each year Good Shepherd selects an award recipient in honor of its founder, JoAnn Pike.

Maine’s credit unions and their members have raised more than $5 million dollars to help end hunger in Maine since 1990 through the Campaign for Ending Hunger. One hundred percent of all money that is raised through the campaign stays in Maine and goes directly to assist thousands of Maine families and individuals who otherwise would go hungry.

In addition to contributing thousands of dollars to food pantries in communities across Maine, Maine’s credit unions also help to provide funds for statewide initiatives to help end hunger. The Campaign for Ending Hunger recently announced a multi-year commitment to Good Shepherd Food-Bank’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Maine through support of the food bank’s BackPack and School Pantry programs.

In 2013, Maine’s credit unions contributed more than $1 million to a variety of causes including ending hunger. In addition to helping solve hunger, funds have also been raised to promote financial literacy and support many other outstanding organizations, such as the Red Cross, Special Olympics and countless other organizations in communities across Maine. In the past 11 years, Maine credit union employees have contributed more than 293,000 volunteer hours, including a record of more than 37,000 hours last year, to their communities.

In addition to recognizing the award recipient, the celebration on April 3 will serve as an opportunity to raise crucial funds needed to eliminate hunger in Maine communities. Sponsors for the event include TD Bank and WEX and many additional sponsorship opportunities are available. For information about sponsoring or attending the event, contact Julie Sexton Guerette at [email protected] or 207-782-3554, ext. 1164.