LOG A LOAD FOR MAINE KIDS RAISES RECORD DONATION

Courtesy of Professional Logging Contractors of Maine

The Professional Logging Contractors (PLC) of Maine raised a record $262,403 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in Maine in 2022 through its annual Log A Load for Maine Kids fundraising efforts. The total shattered the previous record set in 2021 of $205,000, with the PLC’s two Log A Load golf tournaments and the Log A Load live auction at the PLC’s annual membership meeting each hitting new highs in 2022.

“It is incredibly inspiring that despite the many challenges facing Maine’s logging industry, PLC’s Members, Supporting Members, friends, and families have rallied to once again raise a record amount for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals,” Dana Doran, Executive Director of the PLC, said. “No matter what obstacles they encounter in their own businesses and lives, they always reach deep for the kids and their families.”

Doran presented a check for the funds to representatives from Northern Light/ Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland. The check was presented at the PLC’s office in Augusta. Those accepting the check on behalf of the hospitals were Kelly Pearson, Director of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital program and

Corporate Engagement at Northern Light Health, and Kate Richardson, Children’s Miracle Network Senior Philanthropy Manager for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH).

“The logging community continues to amaze us. We are touched by their generosity and compassion. The dollars raised make a real difference in the care our doctors and nurses provide to local kids. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center has used the funds to support programs and services, and purchase equipment like a new ambulance and an ultrasound machine, as well as comfort items like new stuffed animals. On behalf of our patients, their families, and the team that cares for them, thank you,” Pearson said.

“It’s difficult to express the lifesaving impact that this industry is having on our local children’s hospitals. It’s evident that there is a deep-rooted commitment among members of the logging industry to support their community and help their neighbors — and that’s exactly what they’re doing by ensuring that our kids have access to the very best care, right here in Maine. I’m constantly amazed and deeply grateful for the tireless efforts and remarkable generosity of Maine’s logging community,” Richardson said.

The PLC raises the majority of Log A Load funds during an auction at its annual membership meeting in the spring and at golf tournaments in Lovell and Lincoln in August and September. Some additional funds are raised through the sale of items including holiday ornaments and through end of year donations.

The PLC’s Log A Load efforts have now raised more than $1.925 million since 1995. In addition to setting records at both golf tournaments this year, the PLC Annual Meeting Log a Load for Maine Kids Auction also set a record, raising $144,399.

The PLC and the Northern Light Health Foundation (formerly Eastern Maine Health Systems Foundation) have partnered in the Log A Load fund-raising effort since 1996. Donations have gone to support research and training, purchase equipment, and pay for uncompensated care, all in support of the mission to save and improve the lives of as many children in Maine as possible. Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor is a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital and includes a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that has received support for years from the PLC’s Log A Load efforts.

The PLC partners with The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland for the southern tournament.

The South Carolina Forestry Association started the Log A Load for Kids program in 1988. Originally, the concept was for loggers, wood-supplying businesses, and other industry supporters in various states including Maine to donate the value of a load of logs to their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Nationally, Log A Load for Kids is a leader in CMN Hospitals’ fundraising, raising more than $2 million annually through golf tournaments, fishing events, dinners, truckloads of log donations and other events.

For more information, please visit www.logaload.org.

Maine’s loggers are a vital part of the state’s forest products sector, which is worth an estimated $7.7 billion annually. Logging contributed an estimated $619 million to the state economy in 2017. Founded in 1995 with a handful of members who were concerned about the future of the industry, the PLC has grown steadily to become a statewide trade association which provides independent logging contractors a voice in the rapidly changing forest products industry. Board membership consists of only loggers, making it an organization that is run by loggers on behalf of loggers. PLC members are responsible for cutting 75 percent of the timber that is harvested from Maine’s forests annually.

Learn more about the PLC at www.maineloggers.com.