Houlton Students Ready to Serve

Students participating in the first-of-its-kind Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon on October 18 in Houlton are literally going to the dogs and reaching out to help other kids. The community has rallied around the Houlton Humane Society (HHS) and other community projects all for Heidi's Hope, an innovative way to connect kids and community.

Students who are participating in the community service event that raises funds for college scholarships for County kids, are joining the efforts to make HHS better than it ever was.  As many as 25 students and two adult volunteers will be rolling up their sleeves and flexing their muscles to help the rescue facility clean the new building, count supplies (and possibly critters), and organize the new space to better serve the furry friends who call it home, at least temporarily.

A second project is assisting Aid for Kids, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving the lives of children and families through the “Other Maine” Project, and also requires some muscle and a willingness to work hard. The organization has a monster new building, and it is filled with merchandise. The volunteer staff needs some help in cleaning and organizing.  Students will be mostly inside for this cleaning, organizing, and counting project.  With tons of shelves and lots of little nooks and crannies, this project is huge and will be a wonderful work environment!

Milton Cone, the man in charge of the enormous Evergreen Cemetery, as well as the other grounds for the town, wanted to involve students in the history of the 64 acre Evergreen property and came upon a great twist to the original mapping project: although the cemetery is mapped, the town doesn’t have a full and complete list of the veterans who rest in this beautiful piece of property.  So, Cone will have students working on gathering names of the men and woman who served our country, assuring that their resting place is honored with an American Flag every year.  This project will allow students to get into the grounds and learn about the incredible history on the many stones.

Friends of Aroostook wraps up the project offerings with the carrot of an old fashioned cook out for students who sign up to help them carry in the last of their harvest.  Fred Flewelling, the director of the project, gives the food harvested from their many fields to area soup kitchens and food pantries.  Students will get a great workout and help a great cause!

Executive Director April Flagg is impressed with the sense of community in Houlton, “Houlton is doing an incredible job connecting their students and the concepts of community service. Dee Butler, the JMG coordinator in Houlton and the teacher coordinator for Heidi’s Hope, has a long history of community service and kids.  Heidi’s Hope was a great fit for the districts goals and attitude.”

Principal Marty Bouchard is proud of the commitment to service and community Houlton schools exhibit, “The students and staff of Houlton Middle/High School are happy to take part in community service and give back to our wonderful communities.  There are many worthy projects in the Greater Houlton area we are happy to support.”

The Heidi’s Hope Serve-a-Thon honors Heidi Graham, who was AAI Founder Ray Gauvin’s partner in Advantage Payroll Service for 26 years, and helped Gauvin build the business to be the number one payroll processor in Maine.  In addition to her key role building Advantage Payroll alongside Ray Gauvin and her other full-time job as wife and mother, Heidi was always willing to help out in any way she could. She volunteered countless hours with schools, church, Girl Scouts, Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp, and other community programs. Graham lost a two-year battle to breast cancer in 2013. The Serve-a-thon honors Heidi’s spirit and determination and her commitment to community service and education.

Aroostook Aspirations Initiative, which includes the Gauvin County Scholarship Fund, publicly launched in April 2013 by successful local businessman Ray Gauvin and his wife, Sandra Gauvin, a 25-year veteran of the education profession, along with project co-founder Jason Parent, a St. John Valley native and Caribou resident who spent 14 years working for local colleges. The mission has two goals: to support the educational and career goals of the youth in Aroostook County and to mobilize the future prosperity of The County. The initiative, which is governed by a 24-member board of directors comprised of community leaders County-wide, provides scholarships as well as guidance and professional development support for high school seniors in all 16 of the County’s school districts.  For additional information, please visit www.gauvinfund.org and click on the pink Heidi’s Hope tab.