Catie Murphy, Events and Communications Fellow, recounts her Day of Service experience with the South Portland Food Cupboard.
Each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, AmeriCorps members honor Dr. King’s legacy through a Day of Service. While this year presented obstacles due to the pandemic, it was still made special through virtual and in-person events. I along with four other Resilience Corps Members volunteered at the South Portland Food Cupboard where we helped to sort through food to be distributed to families and members of the community.
Oftentimes when people think of AmeriCorps, they think of hands-on community service such as helping to build homes or educating children. As an Events and Communications Fellow, most of my work is done at home on my laptop helping to advance GPCOG’s communications.
With many of the Resilience Corps fellows recently having moved to Maine, it was an incredible experience to provide direct service to our communities facing food insecurity. As we walked in ready for work, there was music playing in the background and volunteers singing and dancing along. The organization had just received bountiful boxes of food from residents in their community. It was energizing to see volunteers who are there on a regular basis showing up for their community during these troublesome times.
Knowing that people across the country were participating in service activities made me feel a real sense of comradeship and hope for brighter days ahead. I am grateful to serve with the Resilience Corps and to work together as a cohort to help strengthen the Greater Portland community.
About Catie Murphy
Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Catie graduated in 2017 from Richmond, the American International University in London with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing. Following her graduation, she worked as a marketing and communications associate at a music education non-profit organization in New York City. After a year in New York, she embarked on a year-long expedition to New Zealand. While there, she was inspired by the country’s efforts to protect their land, wildlife and people, and she decided to pursue environmental advocacy. Catie is passionate about clean energy and ocean conservation, and in her spare time she enjoys knitting and listening to music. She has been visiting Maine since she was a child, and she is excited to be part of the Resilience Corps to help the Greater Portland Region become more adaptable to the challenges it faces.
