Burpees for Turkeys 2021: $5445 Raised for Good Shepherd Food Bank

Since 2015 Wilcox Wellness & Fitness has been raising money in the fight against food insecurity through our annual event Burpees for Turkeys.  This event began in Bangor after Mike & Paige Wilcox, founders of Wilcox Wellness & Fitness, learned about the devastating statistics around childhood hunger across Maine and wanted to help make an impact upon this serious problem. ​

I had the opportunity to participate in Burpees for Turkeys in Bangor in 2017 and 2018 and was truly inspired by the community that Mike & Paige had created in order to support people in their health & fitness journey AND to support their community in other ways such as through this event. 
In 2019 I opened Wilcox Wellness & Fitness in Brunswick and hosted our first Burpees for Turkeys that November.  ​

​Since the start of this fundraiser we have raised ​​$59,287 to support the Good Shepherd Food Bank, and that's something to be proud of!

​There’s no good reason for people in Maine to go hungry. There’s plenty of food. The problem has always been overcoming the economic and political obstacles that prevent food from reaching those who need it. Ending hunger means solving these more systemic problems while, at the same time, doing everything we can on a daily basis to feed hungry people*.

At its root, hunger is an income problem. Many people are hungry because they get sick or injured, a spouse or parent dies, or they lose their job or are unable to work. Unfortunately, these bad breaks happen all the time, forcing people to make painful choices like whether to buy food to eat or pay their rent or other living expenses*.

What’s worse is that more than 70,000 children in Maine are living with food insecurity, meaning they don’t always know where their next meal will come from, or if it will be enough. That means 1 out of every 5 Maine kids struggles with hunger – the highest child hunger rate in all of New England*.

The research is clear.  Children living in food insecure homes are less able to learn than their well-fed peers, are absent from school more frequently, have more behavioral problems in the classroom, and are more prone to health issues*.

These statistics overwhelm my heart, and I'm honored to have this opportunity to truly make an impact each year through Burpees for Turkeys.  ​

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Good Shepherd does amazing work across Maine to fight this serious problem.  Their goal is to ensure that all those struggling with hunger will have access to the nutritious food they need to thrive, when and where they need it by 2025!  To achieve this they have set a bold goal to raise $250M in an unprecedented statewide campaign by raising $150M in large scale food donations from food retailers, manufacturers, producers and Maine Farmers, and another $100M through private donations like those contributed through this event!*

​We are so proud to support the mission of the Good Shepherd Food Bank through this event each year and are thrilled to be contributing $5445 this year in Brunswick alone!  The Bangor location will be hosting their Burpees for Turkeys event on December 11th adding to this remarkable 2021 total.

A special thank you to our business sponsors, Crooker Construction, Akari Salon & R.E. Management each of whom helped in our fundraising total with a $500 donation.

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​For every $5 raised the WILCOX Trainer Team does one burpee.  With $5445 raised that meant that we had 1089 burpees to do.  Thankfully, some of the amazing members of our community turned out to help us with this burpee count and it was so much fun to have them participate.  Other community members joined us through Facebook LIVE and helped add to our burpee count from home.  

It was truly a community event, one that reminds me, as it does every year, just how fortunate I am to such incredible people surround me each day.  I owe a debt of gratitude to each person who donated anywhere from $5 to $500 to achieve this remarkable result.  It truly shows that every dollar adds up to make real IMPACT when we come together as a community.

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References:  *Good Shepherd Food Bank Statistics: ​https://www.gsfb.org/