April 22, 2008
Come meet the Good Shepherd mascot "Goody," a life-size soup can
Seashore Trolley Museum is thrilled to announce a fundraising day in partnership with Good Shepherd Food Bank. On Saturday, May 10, visitors to Seashore will receive a dollar off admission price in exchange for donations to Good Shepherd of a dollar or more. Good Shepherd will use the funds to provide food for distribution within the local area.
“This is our way of raising awareness of the needs of those in our community,” said Seashore vice president John Middleton. Seashore hopes to continue the partnership throughout the season, with further dollar-off donation days.
On May 10, volunteers from Good Shepherd and Seashore will be on hand to collect donations and give discount coupons for admission. Children will enjoy meeting Good Shepherd mascot “Goody,” a life-size soup can, and Good Shepherd will offer educational materials, plus seed packets as an educational giveaway.
Seashore chose money donations over food donations after discussing food-bank logistics with Good Shepherd public relations director JoAn Chartier. According to Chartier, a single dollar donated to the food bank translates into five meals, a $12.50 value.
The event is timed to coincide with one of food banks’ busiest seasons. Although many people think of donating mostly around the holidays, “summer is very important,” said Chartier. “The children are out of school, so there are no free lunches. We know that there are many who go without. Also, teachers are on the front lines [during the school year], identify children who are going home to empty cupboards,” so that children are more likely to receive help.
Chartier goes on to explain that hunger can be invisible, so that there may be many more children and adults living in a “food-insecure” state than others realize. “Hunger can even look like obesity,” she pointed out, “when children are eating the wrong foods, or bingeing. Nineteen percent of Maine kids have experienced lack.”
Seashore visitors must donate at least one dollar to receive a dollar-off coupon and only one coupon may be used on a single ticket. For example, a family of four who gives four dollars could receive one coupon for each ticket, or four dollars off admission. “In this way, it’s basically a dollar-for-dollar exchange,” said Middleton. “But our hope is certainly that some visitors will be inspired by the presence of Good Shepherd and Goody to help out with donations that surpass the amount they are saving on their tickets.”
Good Shepherd Food Bank, based in Auburn, distributes food to over 500 food pantries, soup kitchens and other organizations throughout Maine. Last year, Good Shepherd distributed over 9.4 million pounds of food. For more information: www.gsfb.org.
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