At this annual event, credit unions are recognized for raising funds for the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger and the official, record-breaking total for 2016 was set at $674,193, a new fundraising milestone.
The funds will help to purchase more than $2.7 million meals for hungry Mariners.
All seven credit unions with ties to York County participated in the campaign including Infinity FCU, which has a branch in Arundel; Ocean Communities FCU, with locations in Biddeford, Saco, Sanford and Westbrook; PeoplesChoice CU, which has branches in Biddeford, Saco, Sanford and Wells; Saco Valley CU, with locations in Saco and Waterboro; Town & Country FCU, which has a branch in Saco; TruChoice FCU, which has a branch in Buxton; and York County FCU, with locations in Biddeford, North Berwick, Saco, Sanford and York.
Four of the credit unions placed in the top 25 in total funds raised and/or per member contributions.
York County FCU finished at second in total funds raised and ninth in per member contributions; Saco Valley CU was at third in total funds raised and second in per member contributions; PeoplesChoice CU finished at ninth in total funds raised and 13th in per member contributions; and Town & Country FCU came in at 19th in total funds raised.
“The generosity of the more than 680,000 credit union members in Maine is extraordinary,” said John Murphy, presiden and CEO of the Maine Credit Union League. “Hunger affects communities in many ways, however, credit unions use it as a chance to change lives and put forth the credit union philosophy of ‘people helping people.’ As we celebrate the close of another successful year of the campaign, we are humbled by the remarkable efforts each credit union has made to make their communities a better place.”
The luncheon event featured an address by Jessica Buchanan, author of the New York Times best-selling book, “Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six.”
In October 2011, while on a routine, humanitarian mission to help children in Somalia, Buchanan was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom by a group of Somali land pirates for 93 days. Jessica was imprisoned outdoors in deplorable conditions, starved, and terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters.
In January 2012, the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six heroically parachuted into the desert and successfully rescued her, along with her colleague. Her kidnapping and dramatic rescue will also be made into a feature film by Clint Eastwood.
Buchanan shared her harrowing experience and her belief in helping others, despite her experience with attendees.
She called being part of the announcement “truly inspirational. I applaud the efforts of you stepping up to help those in need.”
Since 1990, the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger has raised $7.2 million. All contributions to the campaign are tax-deductible.
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