Good Deeds

Panera Bread of South Portland recently presented a check for $3,800 to its local charity partner, The REACH School. The money, raised through Panera’s Operation Dough-Nation program, will be used to further The REACH School’s mission to encourage the maximum developmental potential for children with autism through individualized, empirically sound instruction delivered by highly trained staff in a nurturing environment. Panera Bread originally collected $1,900 from customers and then matched its customer donations dollar for dollar, bringing the total donation to $3,800. The staff at the Maine and New Hampshire offices of United Insurance also engaged in a week-long effort to raise awareness of autism, and donated $2,600 to the REACH School for educational programming.

Seven local volunteers recently completed 21 hours of training related to end–of-life care through Beacon Hospice in South Portland. The newest members of the Beacon Hospital volunteer team are Ginger Kenney, Arline Leach, Margaret Locke, Amanda Chamberlain, Chris Mitchell, Lindsy Bryce, and Bruce Dalbeck. Hospice volunteers provide companionship and comfort to patients and offer support to families.

Dead River Company and United Way of Greater Portland recently announced that the Share the Warmth fundraising campaign aimed at helping families and individuals in need of heating assistance in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont raised a total of $127,600. The campaign started with a $100,000 donation from Dead River Company and was supplemented by donations from more than 100 individuals and businesses. Share the Warmth campaign helped 350 households stay warm.

Dr. Philip Pierce of Falmouth ran the 2011 Boston Marathon as part of the New England Organ Bank’s Donate Life New England Marathon Team. The team consisted of 35 athletes who ran in Donate Life running shirts to raise awareness of the importance of organ and tissue donation and to urge those watching the marathon to consider registering to be organ and tissue donors.
 
InterMed, a multi-specialty health care provider with offices throughout southern Maine, donated more than $5,000 to the American Red Cross for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Sarah Barr, a 14-year-old daughter of InterMed physician Dr. Randy Barr, launched the raffle fundraiser and raised money through raffle ticket sales.

Area businesses recently supported The Kids First Center by sponsoring its annual fundraiser gala. The gala is the major fundraising event for Kids First, a Portland-based nonprofit that supports families experiencing the transition of separation and divorce. The following businesses donated $1,000 or more to support the organization: Iberdrola USA Foundation Inc., Silver Street Development, Bill Dodge Auto Group, Time Warner Cable, MittelAsen, Givertz, Scheffee & Lavoie, Key Bank, Vincent, Kantz, Ruffner & Pittman, Friedman Gaythwaite Wolf & Leavitt. Additional donations of $500 were made by Benchmark Real Estate, Holmes Legal Group, Dexter Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, Andrucki & Mitchell, TD Bank, Baker Newman & Noyes, Shankman & Associates, Kelly Remmel & Zimmerman, Prescott Jamieson Nelson & Murphy, Gustafson Family Law, Norman Hanson & DeTroy, Dawson, Smith, Purvis & Bassett.

Gorham Savings Bank hosted a week of green initiatives in celebration of Earth Day, culminating in the document-shredding event where community members, customers and employees stopped by the bank’s Long Wharf location to destroy confidential documents in an environmental manner. The bank’s Green Committee also spent a day cleaning up the Back Cove in Portland and hosted contests, giveaways and presentations for employees and customers.

Maine Friends of Aomori collected more than $6,500 for the Aomori Prefecture Disaster Relief, bringing the total amount raised by the group to $13,500. Maine Friends of Aomori is an alliance of four Maine organizations with ties to Japan; the Friends of Shinagawa (Portland’s Sister City), the Japan-America Society of Maine, the Maine-Aomori Sister State Advisory Council (Maine’s official Aomori organization), and the Maine International Trade Center.

Dr. Rodney Voisine and Dr. Verne Weisberg, doctors at the Dr. Verne Weisberg Center for Weight Management & Wellness in Portland, donated $1,500 to the Wayside Food Programs in Portland in honor of their patients reaching a major milestone by losing a collective 40,000 pounds.

Five County Credit Union raised $4,910 for charity through its Skip-A-Payment program, which allows members of the credit union to skip a December consumer loan payment for a nominal processing fee, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network. Five County raised $4,910 through the program and selected as the recipient the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center.

Dunkin Donuts recently helped Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine with its VIP mug program. When customers purchased a $20 travel mug, funds went directly to support the BBBS mentoring programs in southern Maine.

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The Boys & Girls Club of Portland’s fifth and sixth grade girls basketball team recently donated $1,000 to Mercy Hospital’s Breast Cancer Specialist of Maine. The donation was raised by the team through the sale of pink bracelets, pink ribbons, pink ribbon lollipops, and 50/50 raffles. Joe Peterson, the girls team coach, and Jake Myrick, athletic director for the Girls and Boys Club, brought the idea to the team after Joe’s sister, Jodie Peterson, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Pictured here with members of the girls basketball team are, back row, from left, Dr. Suzanne Hoekstra, Dr. Melinda Molin, Jodie Peterson, Joe Peterson, and Jake Myrick.

Members of the Bowdoin College Women’s Ice Hockey team recently presented a donation of $1,175 to the Breast Health Center at Mid Coast Hospital. Team members raised the funds at hockey games this season by accepting donations for pink ribbons. Pictured here, from left, are Lois Skillings RN, executive vice president of Mid Coast Health Services; Kim Lynch RN, nurse coordinator of Mid Coast Hospital’s Breast and Surgical Oncology Clinic; and Bowdoin women’s hockey team members, Kendra Sweet, Dominique Lozzi, and Sage Santagelo.