Burpees for Turkeys 2020 a HUGE Success Thanks to the Support of Many

One in five children in Maine live with food insecurity.  What's worse is that 1 in 3 children in more rural parts of Maine live with food insecurity.  That means that they lack the necessary nutrition to grow up strong and healthy,   When I first heard this statistic I was shocked and wanted to do something about it!

The thing about food insecurity is that it is largely invisible unless you're on the front lines at the food pantries.  People of all walks of life face food insecurity.  A family illness, temporary job loss, or a divorce can be the event that tips the scale and causes a family to suddenly find themselves in a situation where the cost of healthy and nutrition food becomes a major challenge.  During this pandemic the need for food support has increased dramatically.  According to representatives from Good Shepherd Food Bank, food pantries are reporting a shift in the population who are relying upon them for food support.  Many of those who have historically relied upon local food pantries have been able to lean upon new programs that have been made available through various pandemic support programs, but that hasn't reduced the numbers of people needing what these food pantries provide.  I've heard first hand form families who have had to make tough decisions.  Parents have needed to leave their jobs due to the new responsibilities associated with caring for children who are out of day care and to support their children through the new remote learning approach that has been necessary during this pandemic.  Many people have lost their jobs, have been furloughed, or have found a major reduction in their hours each week.  There are so many new challenges that this pandemic has created that has dramatically increased the need for food pantries in our communities.

All proceeds from Burpees for Turkeys goes directly to Good Shepherd Food Bank where they are able to leverage their resources to make the most of every dollar. ​

The mission of Good Shepherd is to eliminate hunger in Maine by improving access to nutritious food for people in need, building strong community partnerships, and mobilizing the public in the fight to end hunger.  
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​​Collectively with our friends in Bangor we raised over $14,000 to help end food insecurity in Maine.  These dollars will allow Good Shepherd Food Bank to provide over 42,000 meals to hungry Maine families.  That's something for us all to be proud of.

"Team Brunswick" with our fund raising jars. They were soon overflowing with donations to help end food insecurity! Thank you!

I started participating in Burpees for Turkeys when this event first began at the Bangor location in 2015.  At that time I hadn't opened my location in Brunswick, but this focus on the local community, and having the opportunity to give back as a business is one of the reasons that I decided to work with Mike & Paige Wilcox through their franchise program to open the Brunswick location.  I am proud to be an active member of the business community, working to make a difference in the communities where we live through events like Burpees for Turkeys.

Brunswick team pride as we celebrated the completion of over 1100 burpees!

Not only am I proud of our results this year, but I'm proud of my trainer team for their commitment to this event.  They took time out of their Saturday to do HUNDREDS of Burpees and were active participants in helping us achieve our fund raising results.  

​Due to COVID-19 we had to approach Burpees for Turkeys a bit differently this year.  Under normal circumstances we would recruit our clients to help us with fund raising and doing all of these burpees. Last year was our first year in business and our first Burpees for Turkeys event.  It was a big community event a ton of fun!  

This year the community still came out in force to support us through their generous donations, yet the trainer team did ALL of the burpees.  
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​We hosted the event virtually, where we were joined by members of the WILCOX Community of both Brunswick & Bangor as well as friends & family members who cheered us on.  Paige Wilcox was the voice of the party providing a combination of sobering statistics about food insecurity in Maine and reminders of the impact of our efforts as well as conveying often comical "heckles" from the community.  

Allison checking in with "HQ" as we prepared to kick off our first virtual Burpees for Turkeys

Although we were virtual for this event we could feel the love of everyone present.  I am so grateful for the incredible community here at WILCOX Brunswick as well as friends and family, and local businesses who helped us achieve these results. 

I want to extend a special thank our local business "round sponsors" for their support in helping us with these amazing results!

R.E. Management
Crooker Construction
New England Tent & Awning
Martin's Point Healthcare

Bath Savings Bank
Morning Glory Natural Foods
Wild Oats Bakery
​​Thank you for your support !

For every $5 donated the trainer team pledged to do one burpee.  This year we completed over 2800 burpees as a collective team!  That's a lot of burpees but we did each and every one of them with a smile, knowing that our efforts will make such a significant impact.

Allison getting a little air on her bosu ball burpee.

JD checking in on his burpee totals and working hard to smash last year's record.

Bree racking up the total with a ball slam burpee

I look forward to next year when we can invite our clients to join us in the fun.  We're already geared up to exceed our 2020 fund raising totals and prepared to do as many burpees as necessary until we are able to aid the Good Shepherd Food Bank in ENDING food insecurity in our state once and for all!