YOU’RE NEVER TOO
YOUNG TO GIVE BACK
By Sandra Gauvin
“You know it’s not just one person we are trying to help. It’s
everybody around The County. Our neighbors, our friends
and the students in The County.” That was a statement
from a young man named Dusty Graham in an interview
with Tyler Michalowski of WAGM TV during the Heidi’s
Hope Serve-A-Thon on October 18th, 2014.
Heidi’s Hope was created by Aroostook Aspirations Initiative
and was the first Serve-A-Thon ever held in Maine. The
main goal of the event was to help students give back to
their communities while raising monies to provide a college
education to more young people throughout The County.
Projects ranged from documenting graves to painting walls
to organizing a basement to piling wood. It put more than
2500 hours of community service into projects all over
Aroostook County, from Ft. Kent to Hodgdon. With over
100 adult volunteers and nearly 300 students participating,
32 projects were completed in 10 communities. The project
raised over $37,000, which will stay in Aroostook to help
Aroostook kids attend Aroostook colleges, stay in the area,
and boost our economy.
to be more known throughout The County with more
students and volunteers getting involved. We hope for this,
not just because of it being named after our mom, but
because she made an impression that we can all live by, and
that is making a difference in the community we live in.”
The Graham family spent the day working with students
working at the Central Aroostook Humane Society and the
homeless shelter in Presque Isle. Graham continued to say
that, “It was a pleasure to work with these students who
volunteered their time to be involved with Heidi’s Hope.
By making a difference in someone else’s life through
community service, there is a sense of pride that can be
achieved… to be proud of the work you’ve done, proud of
the community you live in, and proud of the connection
you have made with the community.”
Hopefully that connection will help encourage our young
people to stay in Aroostook County. With the 2nd highest
percentage of outmigration of our youth and a workforce
level of 27% (only 27% of our population ages 18-44 are
in our work force), we need to provide avenues to keep our
The ‘Heidi’ in Heidi’s Hope was Graham’s mother, who young people here. And many want to stay here. Heidi’s
tragically passed after battling cancer for two years. The Hope is one solution to making that happen.
Serve-A-Thon was named in her honor due to her life-long
passion for giving and her desire to help children. Graham’s An annual event, Heidi’s Hope will grow this legacy of
brother, Jacob, echoed the sentiment. “Community was service and community throughout The County. “This year
very important to Mom, and she gave all the time. It is we decided to stay small to allow us to plan more effectively
and to change as we grew slowly,” explains April Flagg,
great to see that legacy continue.”
executive director of Aroostook Aspirations Initiative.
According to Dusty Graham, “We ho