Print
The Souper Bowl of Caring team.
The Aroostook Chapter of Credit Unions’ Souper Bowl of Caring has ended and the results are in! The chapter, which includes Acadia FCU, NorState FCU, and The County FCU, collected more than $13,000 in soup and cash donations. The donations were distributed to food cupboards and pantries across Aroostook County.
“Once again the credit union industry’s mission and philosophy of People Helping People has yielded tremendous results,”said Dan Bagley, Executive Vice President of The County FCU. “Food insecurity is in many communities and as usual, the people of Aroostook have gone above and beyond to help one another. It’s extremely satisfying to be able to work as a team with the other credit unions in Aroostook County to impact the communities we all serve.”
When the chapter decided to host the Souper Bowl of Caring again this year, it partnered with the Aroostook County Action Program to coordinate the local distribution of the donated goods.
“Hunger doesn’t discriminate,” said Heidi Rackliffe, Program Supervisor at Aroostook County Action Program. “It can strike working families, the unemployed, seniors living on a fixed income, and children at any time due to a number of unforeseen circumstances. That’s why continued and ongoing ways to address food security such as the Souper Bowl of Caring are critical to helping ensure nobody in our area goes hungry.”
Nine community cupboards and thirteen food pantries received donations that were collected from this effort.
“We were very pleased to be able to participate in this great event once again this year,”said David Desjardins, President and CEO of Acadia FCU. “Unfortunately, hunger and food insecurity is a real problem here in Aroostook County. It’s great that our local credit unions could team up to help Aroostook County Action Program fight this problem right here at home.”
The Chapter also received assistance from media partner WAGM-TV. The station provided coverage and assisted with the production of commercial spots to market the effort.
“Thank you to our partners, Aroostook County Action Program and WAGM-TV, and to all those who generously contributed,” said Denise Duperré, Chief Marketing Executive at NorState FCU and President of the Aroostook Chapter of Credit Unions. “And special thanks to those selfless volunteers who work at the County’s food pantries and distribution centers. Your love for others in need doesn’t go unnoticed.”