Weathervane Restaurants Donate $10000 to MakeAWish



Weathervane Seafood Restaurants have donated nearly $10,000 to the Maine and New Hampshire chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Weathervane owner Terry Gagner announced today.

The Maine chapter of Make-A-Wish received a total of $5,000, which qualifies for the foundation's Wishmaker program. An additional $4,361 was given to the foundation's New Hampshire chapter.

The lion's share of the donation was raised during the 15th annual Weathervane Charity Golf Tournament, held in September at New Hampshire's Candia Woods Golf Links. The event, which included 113 players and 31 companies, raised over $8700. It was organized by Weathervane Marketing Director Meg Cloud, VP of Purchasing Jimmy Collins, and CFO Bill Kurkul.

Thanks to the generous support of our friends, vendors and supporters, this year's tournament was very successful, Gagner said. My own family and the entire Weathervane family have been blessed in many ways. I know I speak for all the tournament participants when I say it's a joy to provide happiness to children who are suffering.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Since it began in 1980, thousands of children have had their wishes come true. The Maine and New Hampshire chapters alone have granted the wishes of nearly 500 children each.

The average cost of fulfilling one child s wish is over $5,000, Gagner said. This year, they hope to grant the wishes of over 75 seriously ill Maine children. That's one every five days. We wanted to do our share in fulfilling this worthwhile goal.

We're so grateful for all their efforts and support, added Kate Vickery, Volunteer Director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. The weather for their golf tournament wasn't ideal, but that speaks volumes about the kind of people they are. We are honored by their generosity and look forward to working with them again in the future.

A family-owned business, the Weathervane has a long tradition of helping others. The Kittery-based family of seafood restaurants dates back to 1969 when Gagner's parents, Ray and Bea, started a roadside seafood take-out stand in Kittery, serving treasured family recipes. Today, it has grown to 16 restaurants in New England and New York.

Each year, the Weathervane donates thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to a variety of deserving charities. In September, it donated and served over 3500 bowls of its signature Bea's Clam Chowder, a $13,000 value, to benefit the Jimmy Fund and Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In addition to its annual golf tournament, the Weathervane sponsors numerous charitable events and education programs. For more information, visit www.weathervaneseafoods.com.

Contact: Terry Gagner, Weathervane Seafood Restaurants, 207-439-0335, www.weathervaneseafoods.com

Kate Vickery, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine, 207-221-2306

Tom McKay, Maine Creative Services, 207-985-1211





Weathervane Restaurants Donate $10000 to MakeAWish