BANGOR, Maine — The United Way of Eastern Maine held a Day of Thanks on Thursday to show gratitude to the organization’s more than 5,000 annual donors and the community-at-large.
The event began at 6 a.m. in downtown Bangor with volunteers delivering thank-you notes to local businesses and the shoppers who support them, according to a press release.
At 6:45 a.m., volunteers were stationed at Eastern Maine Medical Center for the 7 a.m. shift change to thank the medical staff in the Bangor area. Flowers were handed out to nurses at the hospital.
Later in the morning, teams of volunteers and partnering agencies throughout the five counties in Eastern Maine served by the organization began a “prize patrol” that delivered random acts of kindness to individuals, organizations and companies throughout the region.
At 3 p.m., volunteers and partnering agencies gathered in West Market Square in downtown Bangor to hand out cookies and hot cocoa while caroling to celebrate the holiday season.
United Way provides grant funding to health and human services programs across Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Waldo and Washington counties. It serves as a vehicle to raise funding and distributes it among nonprofits and community services, reducing the need for those agencies to compete among themselves for limited grants. Regular recipients include the Bangor Y, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, Spruce Run and Bangor Literacy Volunteers.
The organization raises much of its funding through “workplace campaigns,” seeking contributions from employees of large employers across the region. Last year’s goal was $2 million and $1.7 million was raised. This year’s goal is $1.8 million, according to the organization’s spokesman Dan Cashman.
On social media, the hashtag #ThankYouThursday is being used to help spread the gratitude, and a thank-you video will be released on Facebook and Twitter.