By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Back in the fall, the students of the Caribou National Honor Society resolved to collect one full truckload of clothing for Catholic Charities in order to generate anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000 that will be used to help feed the county; to meet their goal, the group needed to collect 66 watermelon totes worth of clothing and to date, the high school is still about halfway to their goal.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Students from the Caribou High School National Honor Society Chapter are still hoping that they will have enough community support to collect 66 watermelon totes filled with used clothing in their effort to raise funds for Catholic Charities. Shown here are, from left, front row: Dixie Shaw of Catholic Charities, NHS Vice President Mackenzie Belyea, NHS member Kayla Cormier and Fred Schieber of Catholic Charities. Back row: NHS members Ginger Kieffer and Emma Duplissie-Cyr, NHS Corresponding Secretary Kelsie Espling, Chapter Executive Committee Member Meredith Sleeper and NHS President Devin Ballard.
Of course, being halfway toward meeting their ambition goal will still translates to about $6,210 in funds for Catholic Charities to help make sure those in need have enough food on their tables.
“To see the enthusiasm and excitement of our young people, such as the various schools from Houlton to Madawaska and all in between, get on board with this [project] is wonderful ,” said Catholic Charities Program Director Dixie Shaw. “I hope that each and every one of these young people know that they can make a difference and our many hands together are making a difference to so many as they struggle with just getting enough food on their tables.”
Shaw met with a regional meeting of all area NHS clubs and found that nearly every school jumped right in to help collect clothing in order to fundraise for the 25 food pantries around the region supported by Catholic Charities.
While all of the region’s NHS chapters and the JMG (Jobs for Maine Grads) down in Houlton have done their part to Feed the County, Caribou NHS students have led the way in a tremendous community effort.
“We are grateful for having such a helpful community and supportive school system, and for the participation of the elementary and middles schools from Connor, Hilltop, Teague Park, Woodland, New Sweden and the Caribou Vocational Technology Center,” said Caribou NHS Corresponding Secretary Kelsie Espling.
As this is the first year the region’s NHS clubs have participated in the clothing drive to feed the county, Caribou’s students were excited to spread the word about the project.
“All of the members are excited and enthusiastic about helping out as much as we can, and have been very helpful in coming up with ideas about how to get the word our and how to get other schools involved,” Espling said. “Being able to help our community and Aroostook County is a great feeling and we are grateful to be a part of this fundraiser,” she added.
As the clothing drive is slated to close with January’s conclusion, NHS students will be gathering at the Caribou High School for one final drive-up City-Wide Collection event on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m..
The epitome of convenience, all community members need to do is put bagged clothing in their vehicle and drive to the gymnasium entrance of the Caribou High School, where NHS members will be waiting to unload the donations and take them inside.
This will be the second time NHS students have held a City-Wide Collection, and response from the first event was tremendous.
“There has been a constant flow of donations and we were very pleased with our City-Wide Collection, which was our largest collection to date,” Espling said.
Through the hard work of NHS students throughout Aroostook County, Catholic Charities will be receiving some much needed assistance with their mission to ensure that no one goes without.
“We spend thousands of dollars each month at Good Shepherd Food Bank to get enough food for the folks who come to the pantries for help,” Shaw explained. “I think a lot of people do not realize the tremendous amount of money it takes to give away free food.”
“I am so thankful for the support we get from everyone in the county, and I know we all do what we can to help our neighbors, but it is wonderful to get so many young people involved,” she added, mentioning that students as young as third-graders have chipped in from Mars Hill, Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Houlton, Madawaska, and even the Girl Scouts.
“Many hands make light work, and these kids have helped us in ways that they will never know,” Shaw said. “I would like to again thank every single one of them for helping us help the people of Aroostook County.”
While the clothing drive is winding down, community members are still urged to participate in the fundraiser by donating their used clothing at any one of the bins throughout the community, or bring them to the City-Wide Collection on Jan. 26.
