Every dollar
raised goes directly
toward grants
to help end hunger.
AUBURN – The Maine Credit Union League, which started in 1990 a campaign to fight hunger in Maine, recently surpassed the $1 million mark.
The Campaign for Ending Hunger collects donations from member credit unions, staff and volunteers, and passes the money on as grants to charitable organizations statewide. Every credit union in the tri-county area participates.
“Many of those are in the top 15 or 20 fund-raisers,” said Jon Paradise, spokesman for the Credit Union League. “They have been terrific.”
The grant that pushed the campaign over the milestone went, appropriately, to the Good Shepherd Food Bank. The food bank is the largest organization of its kind in Maine, having grown over 20 years from a small home in Auburn to a massive warehouse and network of trucks.
The bank receives millions of pounds of food each year, and distributes it to every county in the state.
Good Shepherd has received $55,000 in grant money from the Credit Union campaign during the past three years.
Several other agencies in the region have received grants, including: Abused Women’s Advocacy Program; L/A Emergency Food Pantry; Salvation Army; Share Center; Maine Rural Workers Coalition; and Bread of Life.
Overall, the campaign raised nearly $100,000 for agencies in the tri-county region since 2000.
“This money comes in literally a dollar at a time,” Paradise said.
“It’s as grass-roots, roll-up-your-sleeves fund raising as it gets. The people get behind it because they are helping people in their own communities. It’s phenomenal to watch, from my standpoint.”
The program is also unique, Paradise said, because 100 percent of the money raised goes toward the grants. The Credit Union League does not take any for administrative or other costs of the campaign.
One in four Maine children under the age of 12 shows evidence of hunger, Paradise said, and one in 10 Maine residents experiences insecurity about food.
“Our goal is to make it as easy and simple as possible for a hunger organization to receive assistance,” he said.
The Credit Union League is the state trade association for 77 credit unions operating in Maine.
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