AUGUSTA — Each week, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust directors and employees, in exchange for being able to dress casually on Fridays, voluntarily contribute to a charitable fund that disburses gifts monthly to local nonprofit organizations. This employee-driven donation program is called Community Commitment, according to a news release from the bank. The bank matches the employee donations, doubling the amount given to the chosen nonprofit organization. Each month employees at a different bank location get to choose the recipient of these contributions.

For the month of November, employees at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s Augusta branch chose Bread of Life Ministries to receive the Community Commitment funds.

“I am very appreciative for this donation from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust,” said John Richardson of Bread of Life Ministries. On a slow day they serve 80 meals and on their busiest day they have served 180 from their soup kitchen located at 157 Water St., in Augusta. Since 1984 the kitchen has been serving a complete hot meal Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. throughout the year. Over the last 12 months, the Soup Kitchen has served more than 36,000 meals thanks to hundreds of volunteers. Feeding the hungry was the initial mission of Bread of Life Ministries and continues to be a core service offered.

Bread of Life Ministries feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, and provides services that help people change their lives and take personal responsibility. Bread of Life has over the years continued to add services to its humble beginnings as a soup kitchen. Now, in addition to feeding the hungry in the Soup Kitchen, they also provide emergency shelter in their Homeless Shelters, Case Management to guide people on their path towards jobs, housing and eventual stability, Life Skills to train and educate people in obtaining their goals, and finally Transitional or Permanent Housing within the community. To learn more go to www.mainebreadoflife.org.

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