Areawide

Postal food drive

Those who have mail delivered to a mailbox beside the road, or who stop by a post office to mail letters or buy stamps, can participate in the 15th Letter Carriers Food Drive on Saturday, May 12.

Last year the drive in eastern and central Maine collected 100,515 pounds of food. A third of that total was collected in towns in The Weekly’s readership area. In Bangor last year, 20,830 pounds of food were collected, and 8,550 pounds in the Orono-Old Town area, 6,496 pounds in Brewer and 2,273 pounds in Hampden, for example.

Participating in the food drive is as easy as leaving nonperishable food items such as canned or dry food in a box or bag next to the mailbox before the mail carrier delivers on May 12. Or leave food donations in the lobby of the local post office. The letter carriers or volunteers will do the rest.

Food collected in individual communities stays in those communities and is given to local food banks and pantries.

It is estimated that nearly 14 million children nationally lived in homes rated as “food insecure” in 2005.

The food drive is conducted in May because many food banks have depleted stocks at this time of year and children will be without school lunch programs during the summer.

The nationwide food drive collected 70.5 million pounds of food in 2006. The effort is organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers and supported by the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, Postmaster General John E. Potter, the AFL-CIO, Campbell Soup Co., United Way of America, America’s Second Harvest, volunteers and postal customers who donate the food. It is the nation’s largest one-day collection of food.

Orono

Annual art auction

Upward Bound announced its fourth annual Art Auction benefiting the Upward Bound Scholarship Program. The event will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17, at the Penobscot Valley Country Club to raise funds to assist students from low-income households in becoming the first in their families to attend college.

This year’s roster of artists and auction items boasts a broad array of art media and styles. Among the items to be auctioned are an oil painting by artist Ingrid Johnson and a hand-woven throw made of mohair and wool by Ron King.

Other artworks featured in the silent and live auctions include a framed oil painting by Richard Kapral; a water color pencil, graphite and charcoal piece by Robert Bryson; and a copper repousse and stained glass hanging lighthouse by Sandi McDaniel.

The event will offer hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. Auctioneer Dave Ames will commence the live auction at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 a person, $35 a couple and $120 per party of eight.

Upward Bound is a federally funded program that assists qualified students in improving skills in high school and preparing them to enter and succeed in college. The program provides academic support during the school year and a six-week residential summer experience at the University of Maine. Over the years, the Art Auction has provided Upward Bound students with thousands of dollars to achieve their academic goals.

Details on the event, artists, and auction pieces are on www2.umaine.edu/ub/ArtAuction2007. To obtain more information or to purchase tickets, call 581-2522.