AMHC commemorates 50 years of service
through Food Bank Challenge
CARIBOU, Maine — Greg Disy, CEO of Aroostook Mental Health Center issued an agency-wide initiative at the beginning of September, in which he challenged all AMHC service sites throughout Aroostook, Washington and Hancock counties to compete in a friendly food drive competition.
Disy asked agency teams across the three counties to see which site could donate the most pounds of food per person. All food and clothing collected is being donated to local food banks where AMHC offices are located.
The goal of the food bank challenge was for AMHC employees to gather and donate as much food as possible in a joint effort to give back to the community. Despite the fact that the food bank challenge was a competition, there was certainly a sense of teamwork between the different offices, stemming from their desire to help donate to those in need. However, there was also the prospect of bragging rights and a coveted trophy in which all offices were competitively trying to earn.
The competition was held from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8, and when the Food Bank Challenge was completed, AMHC personnel were ecstatic with what they were able to accomplish.
“What began as a fun challenge to give back to the communities AMHC has served for years grew into a friendly yet tough competition,” said Michelle Bourgoine, who is a project specialist at AMHC, and also coordinated and kept track of all the numbers throughout the challenge. “Through the month of September, teams throughout the agency rose to the challenge. 203 employees at 13 sites were successful in collecting over 6,200 pounds of food and clothing to help support the 200,000 men, women and children in Maine who don’t have enough food to survive and thrive.”
Due to the fact that not all AMHC offices have the same number of employees, the winner of the competition was decided by which office donated the most food on average, per employee. Despite the competition being close throughout the entire month, the Caribou Outpatient Office was able to win the Food Bank Challenge trophy by collecting 65 pounds per person.
“The response was really amazing,” said Bourgoine. “I’ve only been working at AMHC for about six months, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, at first. The competition became pretty feisty, as all the offices wanted to win the challenge, so we all had a lot of fun participating, and because it was for charity, that just made it that much more special.”
In total, the Caribou Outpatient Office donated 1,237 pounds of food and clothing to Catholic Charities, which they will, in turn, donate to food banks in Maine. Bourgoine added that the counting and weighing of the food and clothing was something that took some time and effort, and within the last 48 hours of the competition, the lead changed between three different offices before the Caribou Outpatient Office finally claimed the trophy.
“Collecting the items as a team makes us feel that we have done something special for someone without them even knowing it,” said Kim Patterson, who was a member of the winning team.
On Oct. 23, AMHC and Catholic Charities representatives met at AMHC’s central office in Caribou to celebrate the community collaboration.
AMHC is a comprehensive community mental health center offering services to the residents of Aroostook, Hancock and Washington counties. For more information about services and availability, visit www.amhc.org or call 1-800-244-6431.
