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Dinner Raises $26,000 for StepUP! Family Resources!

Portland, Maine (June 20, 2011) - A dinner and auction on Friday, June 17 at the Portland Harbor Hotel netted $26,000 for StepUP! Family Resources, A MAPS program which offers family shelter services, transitional housing, and targeted case management for homeless families throughout Maine.

The dinner was co-chaired by volunteers Stefan and Sarah Willimann of Cumberland. After seeing homeless families with young children in Portland, the couple, parents of a four-year-old son, wanted to involve the community in raising funds to support StepUP! Family Resources' services.

Shana Pike, StepUP! Homeless Targeted Case Manager, spoke about the need to dinner guests. "For homeless children and families, the obstacles can seem insurmountable. What so many of us take for granted - child care, healthcare, affordable housing, transportation and employment - is out of reach for too many families. Right here in Maine, 2,100 children are homeless, and one in 22 children don't know where they will get their next meal. These are not just figures, they are real parents and real children who need our assistance and support to overcome the barriers that led them to homelessness."

Event sponsors included MaineNewsSimply.com, MAPS board member Michael Canning and his wife Adrianne; the Donato J. Tramuto Foundation; Portland Harbor Hotel; former first lady Mary Herman and former Maine Governor Angus King; H.M. Payson & Co.; board member Mark Lopez and his wife Christa; Preval Group; Verrill Dana; VIP Parts, Tires & Service; Yarmouth Boat Yard; Investment Management and Consulting Group; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Willimann; Harmon’s & Barton’s; and Curry Printing.

Among the auction items were New England Patriots tickets, baseballs signed by Red Sox players Kevin Youkilis and Jason Papelbon, Saddleback and Sunday River ski vacations, and a driving jacket from Barbour by David Wood.