Helping the” Coasties” at Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor

When we started the plan to collect money for the TSA Agents at the Bar Harbor-Hancock County airport, it was pointed out that there was another group working without pay from the partial government shutdown, that being the Coast Guard!  Much to my embarrassment to realize that they too were working without pay!

A quick call to the Coast Guard station in Southwest Harbor confirmed the fact that they were indeed working without pay, and they too are in danger of missing their 2nd paycheck of the month this Friday! And did you realize that there are 90 "Coasties" stationed at the Southwest Harbor Coast Guard Station?

Because they are government employees, there are limits on what they can accept and how they can accept things.

1. They cannot accept anything directly.
2. They cannot accept cash.
3. They can only accept a gift card for a maximum of $20.00 in value, and the gift card must be from a grocery store such as Hannaford, Shaw's or Walmart.
4. They may accept multiple cards, but these cards must be given to a supervisor who will distribute them.

Imagine the impact of the partial government shutdown on these families and the Southwest Harbor and for the larger MDI community!

I reached out to members of the business community in Southwest Harbor who have graciously agreed to collect cash, that we will in turn into gift cards.

You can go to the Southwest Food Mart and when you check out you can add $1.00, $3.00 or $5.00 or multiples of those to your checkout bill, and the Southwest Food Mart will in turn convert those donations to gift cards.

There are donation jars at The First (Southwest Harbor), Carroll Drug Store, Bar Habor Bank & Trust (Southwest Harbor), McEachern and Hutchins and the Clark Point Cafe where you can stop in and make a cash donation. We are working on 1 or 2 mor sites that are very accessible in Southwest Harbor that you can make donations to help these 90 "Coasties"!

This is NOT a political post. This is just a post about taking care of 90 Coasties stationed at the Southwest Harbor Coast Guard Station.

For over 25 years, I have marveled at how people in Downeast Maine take care of loved ones and people that they know. I hope you will help me help these 7 TSA Agents.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

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