PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Aroostook County Action Program staff and volunteers served 170 meals to children in Presque Isle on Aug. 9 as part of their sponsorship of the Summer Gap Feeding Program, led by the United Way of Aroostook and The Aroostook Medical Center.
The program, which lasted for about a month and ended Sept. 1, provided nutritious foods for children who were not yet back in school.
Heidi Rackliffe, ACAP case manager and licensed social worker, heard about the food effort and wanted to help. It didn’t take much to convince others at ACAP to embrace the idea.
“I wanted to take an active role in helping with this great project, knowing that the large portion of the children being served could be ACAP clients in one way or another,” said Rackliffe. “It seemed like a natural partnership and activity that works directly with the mission and vision of our agency.”
The cost for sponsoring a day of feeding local children was $500 ($2.50 per child). Rackliffe came up with an idea: She proposed that staff sponsor paper cutout “Little People” that they could then decorate and display at ACAP centers. Each cost $2.50, the exact cost of a meal for one child.
“I believe fundraisers and projects go better if there is a visual or something for people to become active in the project,” said Rackliffe. “We got a cutout from [ACAP Project Coordinator] Karen Sawyer for the little people and then Kathy had her aunt’s scrapbooking group make about 300 little people for us.”
As employees purchased the cutouts and decorated them, they set up displays at ACAP’s main office in Presque Isle and at Early Care and Education Centers in Presque Isle and Caribou.
“The display became quite a conversation starter for community members who came into the main lobby,” Rackliffe said. “And at our early care and education centers, children gravitated to the display, stopping to look at all the little characters on the wall. All of the offices continually said how much fun they had and how much they enjoyed the project.”
Employees exceeded the original $500 goal, also contributing money they raised on Casual Fun’D days when they could dress down for $1 on Wednesdays. Parents at the Gouldville Center joined in, too, when they decided to donate proceeds from a community art night. Altogether, ACAP employees raised $745 and Gouldville supporters added an additional $178.
“We aimed at raising $500 to be able to fully sponsor a day of the Summer Gap feeding program,” said Rackliffe, “but the excess funding will allow the program to purchase more, and perhaps better quality, food.”
On Aug. 9, seven ACAP volunteers assisted with food preparation at Presque Isle Recreation and Parks, and then served lunch at satellite locations throughout Presque Isle, including on Birch Street, Carmichael Street and at Helen Noreen. The Summer Gap Feeding Program also offered meals at the Mapleton Recreation Department. Lunch included sandwiches, water, fruit and snacks.
“The outstanding results from our employee-driven effort to support the United Way of Aroostook’s Summer Gap Feeding Program are truly reflective of the dedicated and caring staff that comprises our ACAP Family,” said Parent.
“The Summer Gap Feeding Program creates a solution for a problem that was affecting some of our younger, most vulnerable children in the community,” said Rackliffe. “This was a community project at its finest.”
