2024 Ending Hunger $100,000 Challenge

Accept Our Challenge This October

Nothing is better than a Challenge that supports not one – not two – but three initiatives Maine credit unions and their members care deeply about: Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Special Olympics Maine.

This October, the League is bringing back the $100,000 Challenge. By accepting our challenge, your credit union (and your members) will help us raise $100,000 in one month to benefit our shared Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger.

New Timing Helps Us Celebrate Collaboration and Cooperation

One of the reasons we shifted the Challenge to October was to better time it around International Credit Union Day – an occasion when our global movement comes together to celebrate One World Through Cooperative Finance.

We hope you will support this important fundraising effort by donating to the Campaign and/or coordinating a fundraiser at your credit union during the month of October to support this charity drive. As we have done in year’s past, 25% percent of funds raised online during the Challenge will benefit Good Shepherd Food Bank.

New this year, the Campaign also will be raising money to support a new pilot backpack program for Special Olympics Maine. This innovative initiative will help meet the needs of Special Olympics athletes who are facing food insecurity while also providing them an opportunity to give back to their communities.

We hope your credit union will join us and use this as an opportunity to boost your credit union’s fundraising for the Campaign and give back to crucial community supports to help our neighbors in need.

Additional Information and Materials:

Special Olympics Maine will identify an individualized education program at a local school and/or day habilitation program – one in each county – to work with on this initiative (locations to be determined).

Program leaders at each location will educate their students with disabilities (if a school is selected) or their adult athletes (if a day program is selected) about the importance of eating well and maintaining a healthy diet. They will then put their skills into practice by building their own healthy plate – packing a backpack with nutritious food – that can be brought home to help fill the weekend meal gap.

If the student/athlete is facing food insecurity at home, they will take home their backpack. If they are not at risk, their bag will be donated to a local school’s backpack program. This will allow them to play a unique role in helping improve the health of a neighbor in need.

Backpacks will contain enough food for one child to have three meals for two days.

We hope to fund up to 100 backpacks in each county as part of this special pilot project. If your credit union would like to specifically contribute to this component of the Challenge, please contact Jen Burke or Lauren McCallum. Special Olympics will be provided with a list of all credit unions that support this effort at the end of the Challenge.

The League has developed collateral pieces to help your credit union promote the Challenge with your members, employees, and vendors. These materials can be customized for your audiences and include:

  • 15-Second 2024 Campaign for Ending Hunger $100,000 Challenge Video
  • Campaign for Ending Hunger Vertical Logo:  PDF  |  JPG  |  PNG
  • Campaign for Ending Hunger Horizontal Logo:  PDF  |  JPG  |  PNG
  • Sample Challenge Communications Messaging for Members and/or Vendors
  • Ending Hunger Challenge CU Lobby Poster
  • Ending Hunger Soup Bowl Printable Supporter Forms
  • Ending Hunger Challenge Coloring Page for Kids
  • Sample Social Media Posts:
    • Are you up for a challenge? Donate to our Campaign for Ending Hunger today and help us raise $100k in 31 days to #feed our neighbors in need. #endinghungerchallenge #peoplehelpingpeople
    • 13% of Maine’s population, including 1 in 5 children, struggles to obtain enough healthy, nutritious food. This October, we hope to raise $100,000 in 31 days for our neighbors in need. Join the fight at www.campaignforendinghunger.org/donate. #endinghungerchallenge #peoplehelpingpeople
    • In 2022, Maine was ranked first in New England for household food insecurity. 1 in 8 Mainers face difficulties finding room in their budgets for food, and with qualifications for government assistance programs like SNAP tightening, more and more people rely on food banks for nutrition. Help hunger relief organizations keep up with the demand and feed our neighbors in need today at campaignforendinghunger.org/donate. #endinghungerchallenge #peoplehelpingpeople
    • Hunger is a serious concern for 1 in 8 Mainers. A donation of $5 can help provide 10 meals to those in need. Help us reach our goal of raising $100,000 in 31 days for hungry Mainers today at campaignforendinghunger.org/donate. #endinghungerchallenge #peoplehelpingpeople
    • The fight against hunger is not solitary. Every dollar raised pushes us collectively closer to ending hunger in Maine. Join the fight today at campaignforendinghunger.org/donate. #endinghungerchallenge #peoplehelpingpeople
  • Social Media Images - Facebook/LinkedIn (right click on image below to download):

  • Social Media Images - X (right click on image below to download):

  • Social Media Images - Instagram (right click on image below to download):

Visit Our Campaign Website

www.campaignforendinghunger.org.

Questions

If you have questions about the Challenge or need additional resources, please email Jen Burke at jburke@mainecul.org or Lauren McCallum at lmccallum@mainecul.org.