The Neighbor for Neighbor Coalition is a group of area agencies and organizations who act as a clearinghouse for holiday projects throughout Waldo County. This program ensures that resources are shared and unduplicated so that the maximum number of families possible are helped during the holiday season. The coalition is coordinated by WCAP and most of the applicants receive holiday food boxes through our Heroes 4 Hunger food box project.
How do I signup for food or gifts?
Waldo County residents who are in need of a box of food for the holidays and/or help with gifts for their children can fill out a Neighbor for Neighbor application and mail it to the WCAP office. Once an application is filled out, a local organization that provides food and/or gifts will serve your family.
Please note: since more households sign up than local organizations have resources to help, filling out an application does not guarantee service. Please do your best to fill out your application early in the season. Neighbor for Neighbor will notify a household as soon as possible to let them know whether or not their family was adopted for food and/or gifts or if they will need to seek out other resources. Printed applications for Neighbor for Neighbor are generally available at the beginning of September at the following locations:
WCAP Office at 9 Field Street
Waldo County Head Start & Early Head Start
Searsport Food Cupboard
Belfast Soup Kitchen
Volunteer Regional Food Pantry
Crossroads to Calvary Church
Ascentria Community Services
Maine Behavioral Healthcare
After the application process is complete, you will receive a postcard in the mail informing you of the time and date your food basket will be delivered to you. If you marked on your application that you would prefer to pick your food basket up, information on where to pick it up and what time you may do so will be provided on your post card.
How does my organization join Neighbor for Neighbor?
Joining Neighbor for Neighbor comes with a lot of benefits. Work is more fulfilling knowing that your efforts are not being duplicated and families are being connected to other resources. Membership is free and WCAP Neighbor for Neighbor staff handle data entry, telephone calls, contact information upkeep, and mailings for all coalition members as much or as little as they wish. Waldo County organizations and groups that provide holiday projects such as food and toy giveaways may become a part of the Neighbor for Neighbor Coalition by contacting 207-338-6809.
WCAP’s Heroes 4 Hunger program works to address food insecurity in Waldo County. WCAP Heroes 4 Hunger works in partnership with hundreds of volunteers, civic groups, town officials, and firemen to distribute over 2,000 boxes (36 tons) of food with meat, fruit, vegetables, grain, and dairy to Waldo County families in need each holiday season.
Holiday food boxes are available for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. For information on how to apply for assistance, visit our Neighbor for Neighbor program section.
How can I volunteer?
WCAP Heroes 4 Hunger depends on its volunteers. Historically, we have had two large packing and delivery days. However, the pandemic has affected how we operate the program. Currently, we are working with local grocery stores to pack boxes and relying on volunteers to load them into vehicles and deliver them throughout the county.
The Cinderella Project is the ultimate recycling project. It is a prom dress giveaway program for high school students throughout the state of Maine to promote positive body image and increased self-esteem. New or gently used prom dresses are available in the spring for anyone attending a prom. The gowns are free, with the promise that the high school student receiving the gown will pay it forward, either by volunteering in their community or donating the dress back to the project for another student to have the following year. Accessories such as jewelry and bags are sometimes available as well.
This program provides free backpacks and school supplies to income-eligible families every August (see application for details on income eligibility).
Appointments are now available for the 2023 year. Please fill out and return the form linked below. Our deadline for applying has been extended to August 13th. Applications can be returned to the Waldo CAP Main Office located at 9 Field St in Belfast, emailed to firstname.lastname@example.org, or mailed to PO Box 130 Belfast, ME 04915.
2023 Backpack Application (Please note: you will need to save your application as a .pdf and return by email or print and return by mail, see instructions above)
2023 Distribution Dates & Locations Tuesday, August 15 at Mount View Schools (Thorndike) Friday, August 18 at Leroy H Smith School (Winterport) Week of August 21-25 at 9 Field St. in Belfast Saturday, August 26 at 9 Field St. in Belfast