Pies, pies and ?more pies

‘Tis the season for giving and there are so many ways to help others. I kicked off the season by joining 50 other people, nearly half of them comprised of mother/daughter teams from Raymond, in the Great Thanksgiving Pie Bake Off held last week. We were given the task of cooking 150 apple pies in three hours in the Bon Apetit kitchen at St. Joseph’s College. These pies were needed to fill Thanksgiving baskets which were distributed that night for the guests of Catherine’s Cupboard food pantry.

In its second year of the bake off, Bon Apetit supplied all the ingredients and tools needed, as well as served lunch to the volunteers, and it was quite the scene as 1200 apples were peeled, sliced and seasoned and crusts were made from scratch, filled and then popped into the industrial-sized ovens with 182 pies baked in just over two hours.

Stuart Leckie, general manager of food services at Bon Apetit, was thrilled with the turn out. He said the sights, sounds and smells were exactly what he was hoping for and he loved managing the bake off because everyone is happy and it is such a great feeling. The fast paced, mass production-line type of baking was a lot of work but fun and we were all thrilled to know our efforts were helping others.

Bake sale and pantry drive

The Raymond Village Library will host its annual holiday bake sale on Sunday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tables will be filled with delicious pastries, decorated cookies, candies, pies, and fancy breads in festive wrappings all to help cut down on your holiday baking or for gift giving. In addition, they will be selling unique, reasonably priced holiday gift baskets throughout the month of December. These baskets are a perfect solution for teachers, a hostess gift, or that last-minute gift item. Not only are you getting a lovely present for someone, but you are supporting your library at the same time. Be sure to shop early for the best selection.

On the same day as the bake sale, Cub Scout Pack 800 will be at the library collecting items for the Raymond Food Pantry. Items most needed include paper products and also hot cereals. This is a wonderful opportunity to give to those less fortunate just by bringing in the needed items to the library.

Girl Scouts prepare Christmas boxes

Speaking of helping others this holiday season, Raymond Girl Scout Junior Troop 2199, consisting of Kaitlyn Gedicks, Clara Mulvihill, Grace Schmader, Courtney Brown, Sophie Sangster, Hannah Bernier, Hannah Gagne, Dani Gaudin, Grace Kurtz and Maggie Street, and lead by Catriona Sangster and Martha Page, went to the Casco Village food pantry this week to help prepare for their Christmas food distribution. In addition to placing donated items onto the shelves, the girls decorated over 40 boxes by wrapping them with Christmas wrapping paper. These boxes will be filled with food to provide a merry Christmas to families in need. The girls really enjoyed doing this project together, especially knowing the food distributed would look more exciting and festive in their wrapped boxes.Field trips and service activities like this are primarily funded by the annual cookie sale held in January each year, so stay tuned for details on that. If you are interested in learning more about Girl Scouts, contact Heather Cameron, membership manager of Girl Scouts of Maine, at 1-888-922-4763.

Dipping for ?Special Olympics

It won’t be long until a group of warm-hearted people will jump in the cold ocean to help others. On New Year’s Day, a team comprised of Raymond teachers and community members will take the icy plunge into the Atlantic Ocean to benefit Special Olympics programs of Maine. Team Raymond consists of John Dionne, Jack Fitch, John Keller, George Tanguay, Jean and Mary Thornton and new this year, first-time dippers Steve and Beth Nadeau.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them opportunities to build self-esteem, skills and friendships.

Last year, Team Raymond set a record by raising nearly $4,700 and they hope to reach $5,000 this year. This season give a gift that will really make a difference in the lives of many people. Please join me and sponsor Team Raymond as they bravely take the plunge. Checks should be made payable to Special Olympics Maine and mailed to team captain John Keller at 22 Charlonate Drive, Gray, ME 04039.

Trees for sale

Don’t forget about the Raymond Lions Club tree sale. They will be located on Route 302 on Dec. 11, 12, 18 and 19 and 100 percent of all fundraising profits will be donated back to the Raymond community. The Lions provide services to many groups including offering college scholarships, stocking the food pantry, supporting the Raymond Village Library, providing eye glasses and diabetes assistance and many others. There will be a limited supply of trees and if you would like to pre-order or have other questions, please call Bob Wallace at 655-2222.