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| Photo courtesy of Traci Place Teaming up to haul a load of donated furniture from an Ogunquit inn to Catholic Charities’ Monticello warehouse are, from left: Traci Place, business agent for Teamsters Local 340, and Dixie Shaw, director of hunger and relief services for Catholic Charities. The Teamsters tractor-trailer truck and volunteers hauled two loads prior to New Year’s Day. |
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
Catholic Charities of Maine’s Threads of Hope thrift stores will have a very happy New Year, thanks to a very large Christmas gift from an Ogunquit inn.
“The Ogunquit River Inn and Suites donated some really beautiful furniture, made by the Dixie Company, so each piece is stamped ‘Dixie’ on the back. I think it was meant to be,” said Dixie Shaw, director of hunger and relief services for Catholic Charities office in Caribou.
Aiding in moving the donated items were members of Teamsters Local 340.
“Teamsters Local 340 is again sending their Joint Council 10 truck up for three truckload trips to Aroostook County to help out Catholic Charities’ food bank and their ‘Feed the County’ efforts this holiday season. The first load of furniture was delivered to their warehouse in Monticello on Dec. 23,” said Traci Place, business agent for Teamsters Local 340.
Place said another load was picked up Monday, Dec. 29, and delivered on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
“The donated furniture is from an Ogunquit hotel which is being refurbished. The contents of the hotel will be sold at the three Catholic Charities thrift stores in Aroostook County, with proceeds from the sale going to replenish the food bank Catholic Charities operates. That food, in turn, supplies 24 food pantries in The County, which are run by different organizations,” explained Place.
Furnishings donated include: dressers, tables, chairs, table and floor lamps.
“It’s a total of 80 rooms’ worth of furniture. It’s all in great shape. There are even several chandeliers and bed-side tables,” said Place.
This isn’t the first time the Teamsters have assisted Catholic Charities.
“The Teamsters have helped Catholic Charities for five out of the last six years. It means a lot to the Teamsters to be able to help out the people of Aroostook County,” she said.
“We are happy to partner with Catholic Charities to help al of those food pantries, especially given the fact that this is supposedly the third largest snowfall on record for The County so far this winter.”
The donation will go a long way in helping the thrift stores — located in Caribou, Presque Isle and Monticello — raise money to feed those in need in the coming months.
“The value of what is being donated up north is estimated to be about six months’ worth of food to keep the food bank operations going in Aroostook,” noted Place. “To dispose of this much furniture would have cost a fortune. Instead, the business donating gets a tax deduction. This saves everything from ending up in a landfill and, when sold, can buy a ton of food. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
As of November, Place said the unemployment rate in Aroostook County was at 7.3 percent. This compares to 4.1 percent for Cumberland County (based on recent information from the state).
Place met Shaw, who is Catholic Charities’ contact with the Teamsters, several years ago when Place was based in Presque Isle for the union.
Place described Shaw as a “very dynamic person; she is a mover and a shaker — all for the betterment of the people of Aroostook County.”
The Teamsters initially did a statewide food drive in collaboration with Catholic Charities, which they have done for five years. This is the second time the Teamsters have helped Catholic Charities by moving furniture from southern Maine to northern Maine — however, this is by far the largest to date.
Shaw and other volunteers were in Monticello recently unloading another Teamsters truckfull of furniture.
“We just picked up a hotel renovation in Ogunquit and will need their (Teamsters) help again next week,” she said. “This is one of the largest donations of furniture we have received in years and probably the nicest one ever.”
When finished, Shaw said she’d have three truckloads of great-quality furniture delivered to the warehouse in Monticello.
“This is such a help to have the Teamsters and the Joint Council’s help. They have helped us many times before with an annual food drive that starts in Kittery and goes all the way to Fort Kent, ending with us marching down Main Street in Fort Fairfield at the Potato Blossom Festival Parade,” she said.
Shaw said they’ve also hauled trailers for Catholic Charities in the past, “but this is the biggest single event requiring the Teamsters’ labor to help us load and unload and truck all this great stuff to The County.”
“If we had not had their help, this would have been a costly endeavor. They have saved us money and money in our world is food. We sell stuff to feed folks here in The County and this will help us do the work we do for months to come,” said Shaw.
She said the donation will benefit more than just the Aroostook thrift stores.
“We operate three thrift stores here in The County. This will help us to operate two more stores — one in Sanford and one in Portland, all known as Threads of Hope. This hotel donation will help folks not only in Aroostook but throughout the state,” Shaw said.
Shaw stressed the importance of such contributions to the agency.
“We need donations like this and we need help like this to raise the much-needed funds to do the work we all do at Catholic Charities. We rely on the generosity of businesses, homeowners and groups throughout the state. Without their support and help, it would not be possible to do the work we do,” she said.
Shaw said last year their food bank served 24,176 people throughout The County, through the 24 food pantries served by the food bank.
“Times are hard for a lot of folks. We do our best to help but we can’t do it without help from folks like those at the Ogunquit Inn, Teamsters Local 340 and the New England Joint Council 10,” she said.
Giving to an organization like Catholic Charities appeals to places like the Ogunquit River Inn.
“When we get a hotel, we take it all — from top to bottom — no matter what the contents may be. We process it once it is in our warehouses to ensure it is used in the best way possible. Hotels and large businesses like working with us since we are able to take it all. We are so grateful to businesses for large-scale donations. Our motto is ‘You call, we haul.’ This seems to work well for them, since we do not come in and say ‘I will take 10 of those and only those items and can’t take this or that.’ We take it all and they have only what they want left to deal with,” said Shaw.
“It helps them and it saves us,” added Shaw.
Place said last year, the Teamsters’ truck delivered two tractor trailers with loads of furniture.
“Aroostook County is the size of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined. The donations are very much needed and appreciated by the folks up north,” said Place, who handles 26 public-sector contracts in Aroostook, Penobscot and Washington counties. She also represents the private sector with a nursing home/rehab facility, and the technicians at The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle.
She said within the last few years, the Teamsters’ highest contribution was 35,000 pounds worth of food and $3,000 worth of cash donations being delivered via the Joint Council truck.
Local 340’s coverage area is from Kittery up to Fort Kent and west to east from Rangeley, all the way to Eastport.
Shaw expressed gratitude for all involved in this project.
“This means so much to us by saving us a lot of time and money, which we don’t have. This allows an opportunity to get much-needed inventory to our northern Maine stores to keep the food bank operational,” said Shaw.
For more information or to volunteer, email Shaw at dshaw@ccmaine.org or look for the Threads of Hope program on www.ccmaine.org. Monetary donations can be made out and mailed to: Catholic Charities Maine, Hunger Relief Services, PO Box 748, Caribou, ME 04736.
“Remember, if you call, we haul,” said Shaw.
