19th Annual Turkey-A-Thon Raises Nearly $35,000 for Food Pantries in Washington County
For Immediate Release
Date: October 11, 2023
Program Contact: Regina Grabrovac, Healthy Acadia, (207) 255-3741 or regina@healthyacadia.org
Media Contact: Tracey Carlson, (207) 667-7171 Ext. 112 or tracey@healthyacadia.org
19th Annual Turkey-A-Thon Raises Nearly $35,000 for Food Pantries in Washington County
WASHINGTON COUNTY. Thanks to the incredible generosity of community members across Washington County, this year’s Annual Turkey-A-Thon was another huge success. At the close of the daylong event on Friday, October 6, 2023, donations totaled $34,442,13, with donations continuing to come in.
On Friday, October 6, 2023, teams of enthusiastic volunteers from local schools, businesses, organizations, and the community at large, together with employees from Classic Hits 92.7/95.3 FM Radio, Dunkin’ in Calais and Machias, V.L. Tammaro in Calais and Baileyville, and Healthy Acadia, were stationed at seven sites across Washington County to collect donations for local food pantries. All funds raised through this annual event are distributed to community food security organizations.
Classic Hits 92.7/95.3 FM Radio, broadcasting live from the Dunkin’ studio at V.L Tammaro in Calais, kept the momentum going throughout the day, encouraging a little friendly competition as collection sites reported their tallies hourly via phone.
Every dollar raised through the Turkey-A-Thon will be used to purchase gift certificates from local grocery stores that will be distributed among the ten Washington County food pantries, as well as emergency school backpack programs and other food cupboards. The gift certificates will help ensure that local families in need enjoy a healthy holiday meal. Community members can support their local food pantry by donating directly any time of the year.
Last year’s event raised over $40,000, a record-breaker. The numbers are down a bit this year, acknowledged Jeff Demmons, former Account Executive with WQDY, Inc., now retired, and the co-coordinator of the annual Turkey-A-Thon since its inception. He went on to note that taking into account the current state of the economy and the rising costs of most goods and services, he is very happy with this year’s results.
Classic Hits 92.7/95.3, Dunkin’ in Calais and Machias, VL Tammaro in Woodland and in Calais, and Healthy Acadia would like to thank all those who generously donated and/or volunteered their time during the event.
“Every donation counts,” said Healthy Acadia Food Programs Manager Regina Grabrovac. We are so grateful for every dollar donated - thank you for giving what you can! We also want to thank our community members who volunteered their time for this event, and the students and schools that participated in collecting donations for this campaign through the Taters and Gravy fundraiser.”
If your school would like to get involved in the Taters and Gravy fundraiser for the 20th Annual Turkey-A-Thon in 2024, please contact Regina Grabrovac at Healthy Acadia: (207) 255-3741 or regina@healthyacadia.org.
Healthy Acadia is a 501(C)(3) community health organization building vibrant communities and making it easier for all people to lead healthy lives throughout Washington and Hancock counties. For more information about Healthy Acadia’s efforts to address food insecurity and other health initiatives, visit www.healthyacadia.org.
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