Heidi Stalling of Timeless Hair Creations in Westbrook donates her time Monday to cut Debbie Lee’s hair at St. Anthony of Padua. Chance Viles / American Journal
WESTBROOK — Volunteers at St. Anthony of Padua Parish opted to spend their Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday serving the community.
Volunteers help make pancakes and other breakfast foods for the event attendees. Chance Viles / American Journal
The Day of Service at the church was started last year by St. Anthony’s Social Justice and Peace Committee. The idea, volunteers said, was to give to those in need in honor of King, who spent his life challenging others to be more accepting and giving. They were inspired by a similar event held by the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco.
“There isn’t a better way to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. The best way to honor him is service. Here, we are providing people with not only food, but really getting out there the number of free or affordable services there are for them,” volunteer Shirley Gaudet said.
A member of the Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center took attendees’ vitals. A family practitioner from St. Mary’s Health System in Poland focused her medical attention on attendees’ feet, because those in need are often without good shoes or tend to walk a lot.
“This is a great service and need in the community and it helps us get a pulse on the general health of people in the area,” said Holly Burnham of Northern Light.
“I’m lucky to have this day to volunteer and offer these services at no cost,” said Julie Wilson, a family nurse practitioner from St. Mary’s Health System.
A representative from the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project was also available.
“We are a legal organization aiming to connect people with low incomes with legal help. For most people, hiring a lawyer isn’t feasible and most individuals don’t have the money,” said Kara Auclair, project coordinator for the organization.
Low-income families often have a number of issues they do not even realize a lawyer could remedy, such as disputes with landlords, Auclair said.
“Our society doesn’t often talk about legal rights, and our mission is to talk about that in terms of equity and accessibility,” she said.
For people in need of a fresh makeover, a hairstylist was on hand, as well a manicurist.
Debbie Lee was excited about and appreciative of the haircut she received from Heidi Stalling of Timeless Hair Creations in Westbrook.
“After my haircut, I looked so good. I swear if I had more money I would give it all to this church,” Lee said.
The event ran from 9-11:30 a.m and drew well over 30 attendees.
“We are happy, we’ve already gotten more people coming by than last year. I am just happy to see people out there helping one another,” Gaudet said.
George Stanley of Greene gets a fresh look from Heidi Stalling of Timeless Hair Creations in Westbrook. His friend Debbie Lee, right, also got her hair cut at the event Monday. Chance Viles / American Journal
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