Community Work/Projects to Date

Since Laura passed on February 24, 2021, we have coordinated or completed the following things in our communities to help the lives of other:

1. Created “Pay it Forward Cards in Laura’s Legacy” which are business cards with the info on paying it forward and honoring Laura. We initially purchased 5,000 business cards. During the first 4 months we had requests for all 5,000 and mailed them all over the country. People would send pictures of their acts of kindness. We have photos from every state except Alaska where they have been used. In total, $41,362 worth of meals/drinks were bought for people. Over $36,445 in additional tips over 20% were done in Laura’s name. Over $4,850 worth of groceries were bought and donated with the pay it forward cards. Additionally, $9,126 worth of additional donations were made using the cards to animal shelters, homeless groups, veterans and more. In total, in the first 10 months, over $91,783 was donated as small acts of kindness by random people all over the US.  We have received more cards and sending them out to people who have requested more. Additionally, we have had more then 50 people reach out to tell us they donated blood in Laura’s honor, most were first time donors. We have also had over 40 people sign up to become organ donors after hearing Laura’s final donation was gifts to over 20 people through organ donation.
2. March 3, 2021 – Purchased 50 roses in globes and handed them out to various people at stores and restaurants. Everyone got a Laura’s Legacy card and loved the donation!
3. April 3, 2021 – Donated over 100 Easter baskets with gift cards and treats to multiple families needing help from Waterville to Kittery.
4. April 9, 2021 – Donated flowers and balloons to a teacher in Lebanon who had helped Laura’s kids in school and became her best friend. This was the first of over 30 donations of flowers being delivered in 2021 to various people struggling, going through tragedy or just to brighten their day.
5. April 17, 2021 – Coordinated several road side clean ups in several communities. We purchased all the bags and for those who couldn’t get the trash to the transfer station, we went around with a trailer to get them. We also had a BBQ for anyone who volunteered. This was something Laura had done since 2010 and was important to her. We hope to expand this program this year and get even more roads completed.
6. April 24, 2021 – Purchased $1,000 worth of girl scouts at several community’s cookie sales outside markets. Donated all the boxes of cookies to first responders, nurses and teachers.
7. April 29, 2021 – Sponsored the Alfred Elementary School 5^th Grade 5k with Laura’s name added to all the t-shirts, while also sponsoring several children. In total, $2,346.75 was raised/donated!
8. May 5^th, 2021 – National Teacher Appreciation Week – We purchased the lunch for all school personnel in 3 communities. We hired catering companies or used local restaurants to help them, while recognizing the hard work of all the teachers and school staff.
9. May 8^th, 2021 – Laura had always taken care of the Lebanon Police Officer Jeffery Lee Bull Memorial Garden. In 2020, the entire memorial garden and sign was replaced by Laura and her donations. This year, Laura’s Legacy of Love and family donated over $250 in new flowers and mulch, plus hours of weeding and fixing. Officer Bull was a police officer killed in Lebanon during a high-speed chase. We always sponsor a wreath at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, DC in his honor.
10. May 9^th, 2021 – Mother’s Day – We purchased from a nursery 300 roses that we handed out to moms in most of York County. We drove around to find people outside and offer them a rose, with a Laura’s Legacy Card. This was the first mother’s day for the kids without their mom and they wanted to do something special to honor their mom. The response was heartwarming. We also visited several nursing homes and left them for the patients.
11. May 26, 2021 – Purchased $500 worth of gift cards to Wal-Mart in Sanford and Biddeford. Handed them out to moms shopping with their kids to help them out a little.
12. May 29, 2021 – Made a $200 donation to the Center for Wildlife in Cape Neddick. This was one of the organizations Laura always supported.
13. June 13, 2021 – Handed out $500 worth of gift cards to people at Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen and Aroma Joes in honor of Laura.
14. June 29, 2021 – We had been contacted and about a few families struggling with the high heat and humidity and they had been unable to find Air Conditioners. We searched for 2 days in 2 states to find some to help. We got a call from a manager of Home Depot that they had a shipment, and we could get 10 for the cause. They gave them to us at a discounted rate of $250 each, even though they could have sold them and got more profit to others. We donated the $2500 worth of air conditioners in Biddeford, Arundel, Alfred, Sanford, Waterboro and Portland. All of the families were so relieved as we were in a heat wave and they couldn’t find any and yet get one donated.
15. July 9^th, 2021 – Donated $500 worth of gift cards to families at the Sanford Shaw’s in honor of Laura.
16. August 1, 2021 – Laura’s Legacy of Love sponsored three communities’ soccer teams and also helped the associations buy needed equipment for their concession stands.
17. August 22, 2021 – Purchased lunches from area businesses to donate to first responders and nurses/hospital staff fighting the Covid fight. Continue to support local small businesses while supporting local hero’s.
18. September 25, 2021 – Sponsored multiple businesses at the Eliot Community Days.  We attended 8 community days in Maine during the fall and spread Laura’s love to many small businesses that have been struggling with the Covid pandemic.
19. October 3, 2021 – After fundraising for several weeks, we attended the New England Donor Services Blue and Green Walk to raise money for Organ Donation in New England. We were able to raise enough funds to be the 3^rd highest fundraising team in New England! This cause is special to us as Laura helped more then 20 people with her organs after her passing.
20. October 24, 2021 – Laura’s Legacy of Love sponsored end of season parties for hundreds of soccer players by bringing dozens of donuts, drinks, pizza and of course ice cream in Laura’s honor. Laura had sponsored teams since 2018 with her business and always paid for the year end parties, so we will continue them in her Legacy.
21. November 13, 2021 – Sponsored a baked good sale for the Sanford Christian Academy volleyball and basketball teams. Paid for all the supplies to make hundreds of baked goods. Then we bought every single baked item and donated them to the team to hand out to people who were there for the craft fair. Was a great day thanks to Laura’s Legacy of Love.
22. November 20, 2021 – Coordinated a food drive after hearing from the York County Food Pantry that they needed a lot of help for Thanksgiving Baskets, more people then ever needed help this year.  We set up in their parking lot and advertised for people to bring donations. We were blown away by all the donations, including over 25 large turkeys and dozens of full bags of food. We also received $435 in cash donations, so we donated $565 to make it an even $1000 raised in just a few hours to help York County families at Thanksgiving.
23. November 29, 2021 – We heard of a very serious accident in Waterboro, with first responders who had been facing extremely cold weather for hours with an expected another few hours being their for accident reconstruction. We purchased several boxes of coffee and hot chocolate muffins and donuts and delivered them to the responders on scene. During the summer, we also assisted first responders with food and cold drinks at several woods fires and house fires in York County.
24. December 5, 2021 – Annually, we help Toys for Tots and the NH State Police with toys. We were able to buy lots of toys and donate them to kids through this program.
25. December 6, 2021 – 2^nd Annual Operation Santa in Alfred – Laura had coordinated the Operation Santa program in Lebanon for many years, helping hundreds of kids at Christmas get gifts. When we moved to Alfred, she put a magic mailbox out front and asked parents to bring their kids to drop off a letter and get a response from Santa, as well as a special gift. She also started the Alfred North Pole, where she decorated 2 acres of our property with tons of lights. Laura wanted to lighten up the lives of families who had been quarantined and couldn’t see lights. We also had Santa to greet the kids and take a socially distanced picture. In 2 years, we have helped more then 400 kids get gifts and letters from Santa.
26. December 10, 2021 – Laura loved date nights! So we purchased 26 tickets to WPOR 2021 Jingle Jam and gave them to 13 couples to attend, plus paid for their dinners at the restaurant of their choice to help support local restaurants.
27. December 11, 2021 – Laura’s Legacy of Love was selected to be part of Annual Giving Back Breakfast. We filled 3 restaurants in Kennebunk, Somersworth and Portsmouth. Everyone paid for their bill and left a $100 tip per person. $4,000 was donated to local waitstaff in Laura’s honor at Christmas time. This was one of our favorite fundraisers to date!
28. December 13, 2021 – Laura always supported Wreaths Across America. She donated over 200 wreaths in 3 years to help the cause. We also as a family donated our time to put wreaths on all the graves at the Southern Maine Veterans Cemetery. We continued this year with that program and sponsorship.
29. December 24, 2021 – On top of helping all the families through Operation Santa, we also handed out $500 worth of gift cards at several stores to help brighten the holidays of many families.
30. January 1, 2022 – Caring Unlimited 2022 Atlantic Plunge – sponsored and donated to several people who did the plunge in the ocean in Kennebunk to help domestic violence programs. This was the first year we did this and were honored to have people do it in honor of Laura’s Legacy of Love.
31. January 20, 2022 – We bought and donated over 20 sleds to 4 areas schools to help kids enjoy the snow!

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Upcoming Events

February 22, 2022 – School Bus Driver Appreciation Day will be celebrated. We are purchasing signs and making gift bags for several area communities bus drivers.

April 9, 2022 – Opening Weekend at Hadlock Field – We have purchased 100 tickets to donate to families with kids to attend opening weekend at the park!

May 3, 2022 – Will be sponsoring our annual National Teachers Appreciation Day at various schools to thank the school staff for all that they do for our children.

Last updated 1/1/2022