SOFTBALL TOURNEY BENEFITS ALS

Members of softball teams in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts participated in the seventh annual Eric Whitten Memorial Softball Tournament in South Portland in July.

Additional Photos

Nan Whitten, center, accepted a $500 gift for the ALS Association from Saco & Biddeford Savings, represented by Scarborough branch manager Laura Bustin, left, and South Portland branch manager Melanie Lee. Courtesy photo

The tourney, held at the Wainright Athletic Complex off Highland Avenue, benefited the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association. It was named in Whitten’s honor because he was a South Portland resident who died of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2004.

Nan Whitten, his widow and director of the tournament, accepted a $500 donation made by Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution.

FOOD MOBILE LAUNCHED

In July, Good Shepherd Food-Bank of Auburn officially launched its Food Mobile, made possible by Kraft Foods and its foundation, in partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization. Volunteers from Kraft Foods and Hannaford, Kraft’s local retail partner, helped distribute food to more than 80 families and individuals.

CREDIT UNION HELPS FEED FAMILIES

Community Credit Union, of Lewiston and Auburn, presented the Trinity Jubilee Center with a $500 check recently, based on the statistic that 10 percent of Maine households experience food insecurity.

Kim Wettlaufer, executive director of the center, said there has been an increase in the number of individuals using the center’s services. The center regularly addresses otherwise unmet personal, family, social and spiritual needs of people in surrounding communities.

YOUTH LEARN TO SAVE

Camden National Bank sent dozens of employees into classrooms across the state in effort to teach youth about the importance of savings and money management as part of the 14th annual Teach Children to Save Day.

Greg Dufour, president and CEO of the bank, said the event is one of his favorite and he enjoys seeing children learn how to save for the future.

Bankers teach children personal finance basics through games and activities. Lessons included how interest makes money grow, how to create a spending plan and differentiating between needs and wants.

SOWING SEEDS FOR WELLNESS

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care planted organic vegetable beds at its Portland office with the help of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension — Cumberland County Master Gardeners Program.

Seedlings from local farmers for red leaf and green leaf lettuce, chard, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, leeks and summer squash were planted in two raised 16-square-foot beds on the deck of the company’s third-floor office on Market Street.

Employees can choose to use some or all of the eight hours of community service the company affords them on an annual basis to tend to the vegetable beds throughout the season.

The harvest will also support Plant a Row for the Hungry, a national program that encourages gardeners to grow a little extra and donate to local soup kitchens and food pantries.

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