/

Hunger awareness advocate meets with Cascade Brook School students

4 mins read
From left to right is Dana Bullen, representing the Care & Share Food Closet, Brenda Davis, University Credit Union branch manager Beth Beaudoin, CBS Principal Nicole Goodspeed, and Tonya Pickering, executive assistant for the UCU.
Brenda Davis

FARMINGTON – Cascade Brook School students had a special guest speaker Thursday, meeting with a woman who is walking to nearly 100 credit unions to bring awareness to hunger in Maine.

Students at every level of Regional School Unit 9 have been collecting food for the holidays. At Cascade Brook School, students gathered 1,258.6 pounds of food, an average of 89 pounds per class. The Farmington elementary schools delivered that food to the Community Center Friday, with former educators and other volunteers sorting the goods by type for delivery to the Care & Share Food Closet.

Davis’ Thursday visit, along with representatives of the University Credit Union and the food closet, was a chance for the CBS students to meet an advocate for hunger awareness. Davis, who is affiliated with the  BBC Opportunity Center in Old Town, walks to credit unions across the state in conjunction with the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger. The campaign has raised more than $7.2 million since 1990.

UCU sponsored Davis’ visit to the school.

Cascade Brook School librarian Amy Graham with University Credit Union branch manager Beth Beaudoin. CBS received $175 for library books from UCU.

Davis told students that she grew up with less fortunate friends and neighbors that would visit her parents’ home to get a hot meal. Later, she recalled giving a man a ride to the food store – a 22 mile trip – and realizing that many rural Mainers did not have ready access to a food closet.

She eventually met Bill Irwin, the famed Appalachian Trial hiker who was blind, and he convinced her that her “Appalachian Trial” was in her own backyard. In 2002, she decided to plan a walk to raise hunger awareness, and was sponsored $25 per credit union she was willing to visit. She selected a portion of the state to hike, but was surprised to learn there were 45 credit unions within that area.

“I had no idea there were that many,” she said. Since then she has walked more than 13,000 miles

This year, Davis is walking to 98 credit unions in 91 communities. She wears a bright orange sweatshirt and her signature yellow construction worker hat, as she is “working to end hunger.”

Thursday, she was presented with a check by the University Credit Union’s Farmington branch manager Beth Beaudoin. Davis provided a check to Dana Bullen, representing the Care & Share Food Pantry.

Beaudoin also had a special gift for CBS, for the students’ food gathering efforts. She provided the school with a gift certificate to DDG Booksellers to benefit the school library.

Mallett School students cross Middle Street with food donations, waving to Police Chief Jack Peck.
Volunteers, mostly retired educators, unload food dropped off by students.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

1 Comment

  1. I was fortunate to experience the Mallett School donation parade once. It’s magical. So glad to see the tradition is being carried on.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.