Car Show

Organizing fundraising activities can be a rewarding endeavor on many levels. For Lisa and Ernie D'Angelo, owners of Kittery Ace Hardware in Kittery, Maine, coordinating a local car show was a chance to give back to the community and raise awareness of Mainspring, a new social services center.

"By having a car show, you combine like-minded car owners who are very generous with the community walking through as spectators," said Ernie. "It's a fun way to raise money for a good cause that directly influences our community."

In addition to the car show, Lisa and Ernie are always looking for novel ways to raise money for local organizations that benefit the community, including Footprints Food Pantry. Lisa has been volunteering there for the last 6 years, and she has moved into an advisory role on the board of directors for the organization.

"It's been a great experience to work with a bunch of great people who volunteer their time and give a ton to the community," said Lisa. "They help people who really, really need it."

Lisa also keeps a jar for customer donations near the register at Ace to collect change for the food pantry.

"We collect that jar every 2-3 weeks," said Megan Shapiro Ross, Executive Director of Footprints Food Pantry. "They call us and say, 'The jar is full!' We are fueled by the local businesses, and Ace is leading that effort."

The food pantry serves about 350 households a month, and about 150 households each week. The pantry operates on an abundance mentality, which means that individuals can shop at Footprints as often as they like, and take as much food as they like, which is a different policy than most food pantries.

Another organization in town called Fair Tide helps with affordable housing. Fair Tide and Footprints worked together to purchase a building in town to house Mainspring. Their vision for Mainspring is to create a location that will house all the social services in the community under one roof to support individuals in a dignified and comprehensive manner.

By having the car show, Lisa and Ernie were able to introduce hundreds of people to the Mainspring project. They also helped to raise over $3,000 that can go directly to fund the construction of Mainspring.

"We're lucky to be able to run a business, and to take this opportunity to give back… it's a no brainer," said Ernie.