WABI, WVII cover Maine Day service projects, philanthropy
WABI (Channel 5) and WVII (Channel 7) covered service projects and philanthropy events on Maine Day. Following University of Maine tradition, classes were canceled and students, faculty, staff and community members were encouraged to participate in service projects to give back and spruce up the campus. “Today is a day of service for us to give back and for students to understand that to do well, they have to do well for others,” said Robert Dana, vice president for student life and dean of students. “We’re just so thrilled to death that everybody believes in doing for others and doing all the good they can whenever they can do it. We just love these students. They’re full of energy. They’re excited. They believe in it.” One of those service projects was the third annual Maine Day Meal Packout, organized by the Honors College. WABI reported the college expected to pack 71,000 meals and deliver them to food pantries with the help of the New England branch of The Outreach Program. “One of six kids in Maine is food insecure. Over 180,000 people in Maine are food insecure. What we’re doing today is packing two different kinds of meals. We’re packing gluten-free Spanish rice and apples and oatmeal, so that they have a breakfast and a lunch/dinner option,” said Emma Hutchinson, UMaine student manager of the event. “Maine is one of the most food insecure states in the United States and the most food insecure in New England, so it’s really important that we do everything that we can to combat hunger, especially in Maine,” said Lauren Ryan, UMaine student and a team leader for the event. Ryan told WVII the event raised $17,000 to pack meals to help those in need. “A lot of the meals that we’re packing today are either staying on campus, staying locally, or going to one of seven different counties in Maine. So our reach is very far and we’re making a big impact today,” Ryan said. “The hunger epidemic in Maine is real but not a lot of people know about it. So we’re raising awareness for this. We know we’re not solving hunger with this but we’re making a dent, we’re making a splash and every little bit helps,” said Hutchinson. Some projects were held off campus — the UMaine rugby team helped beautify a town sidewalk in Orono, WABI reported. WABI also covered a philanthropy event held at the Maine Day barbecue to raise money for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Participants had their heads shaved to raise money and awareness for the cause. “Everyone is affected by cancer. Everyone has a connection to someone,” said Daniel Norwood, the event organizer. “It’s just hair. It grows back,” said UMaine student Colby Kreider. “I had a childhood friend who passed away from cancer, so just raising awareness is good.” “My freshman year, I saw this event, and I looked at people shaving their heads and I said, why would anybody ever do that?” said UMaine student Alyssa Urquhart. This is her fifth year shaving her head. “I can’t imagine not doing it at this point, because there are kids out there who don’t have the choice to be bald. Shave our heads in solidarity with them to show them that bald is beautiful and that it doesn’t make you less beautiful to not have hair.”