24 Oct 2019
Special Feature - Season of Giving

Special Feature – MOUNTAINeers Kick Off the Season of Giving

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for  helping others.”

Audrey Hepburn

Autumn in New England is enchanted: the cooler temperatures, a sea of red, orange and yellow leaves color the mountains, and everything is pumpkin-flavored wherever you travel.  These beautiful sights are not the only thing that makes this season special. With the holidays right around the corner, opportunities to give back to those in need become more and more available. With that in mind, several of our MOUNTAINeers and their families, took full advantage of these fading daylight hours to serve in their communities in a variety of ways over the past weekend. 

Camp Sunshine Pumpkin FestivalFreeport, ME

Picture 10,000 carved pumpkins in one location.  Even before the pumpkins can be carved, it takes a host of volunteers to prepare them for the magical display that transforms the streets of Freeport, ME and the L.L. Bean campus into a sea of orange light.  The Pumpkin Festival is a Maine tradition that has happened since 2003. The event is hosted by Camp Sunshine, an organization that helps support children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

MOUNTAIN, LTD. volunteers and their families took part in the fun and camaraderie of the day.  Some signed up to carve pumpkins and remove the guts and goo for the kids, and others assisted in the setup, placing candles in the carved pumpkins.  The face painting station brought joy not only to the kids as well as the volunteers.

Jenna Obie, her son, and her husband joined in the action as chaperones of the Pumpkin Play Land.  Placed in charge of putting the candles in the pumpkins, she and her toddler son quickly had other kids wanting to follow their lead.  “I know it doesn’t sound like that much fun bending over and placing candles in 4,000 pumpkins, but that had to be my favorite part of the day.”  After ensuring all the pumpkins would be lit as night fell, she turned her talents to face painting.  Pumpkins, smiley faces, flowers, and one blue and pink ghost took on life as they were drawn on the children’s faces.

Crystal Polk and her husband had the fun of working the marathon of pumpkin carving.  Preparing all the pumpkins for children to be able to decorate and carve, they were in charge of cutting the tops and removing the insides before they could be handed out to the children.  When asked if she brought us all cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds, she said she didn’t have time on the assembly line to gather them.  “I was surrounded by happiness and laughter with adults who were helping and children.  It was an unbelievable day of giving back to a charity that does so much for children and their families in our community.  I was blessed to be able to connect in this way and serve by giving a few hours out of my day.”

Crystal Polk and Jenna Obie - MOUNTAINeers volunteering at the Pumpkin Fest

Thank you, Jenna and Crystal, for representing MOUNTAIN at the Pumpkin Festival!

Grace Community Church Trunk or Treat – Auburn, ME

MOUNTAIN participated in a Trunk and Treat at Grace Community Church in Auburn, ME later that afternoon.  We were able to decorate three vehicles thanks to the artists in our office who offered their creations for the event.   One was the theme “Baby Shark” based off of the popular song. The “Never-Rest Cemetary” display was sponsored by our finance and accounting team who supplied a spooky backdrop for our Dracula and goblins.  The winning trunk belonged to another MOUNTAINeer, Angela Blackington teaching the younger generation how to play battleship on a giant game board. The day brought a lot of misses and a few hits, sinking our submarine while enjoying the Village People’s rendition of “In the Navy.”

If you keep up with our social media, you may recognize Angela’s outfit from our Battleship Game that we hosted for hurricane relief efforts in 2017.

Angela and Neil with their Trunk or Treat Truck Deocration

We are just entering the season of giving and we hope that you will follow the lead of these MOUNTAINeers and serve in your community.  We enjoy sharing photos and information, so don’t hesitate to send us your good deeds (marketing@mountainltd.com)

Stay tuned to our blog and social media for other community outreach that our MOUNTAINeers are involved in!