PORTLAND, Maine – Portland Downtown today announced that its summertime Shop for Cause Day raised $4,500 for the Locker Project, a nonprofit organization that helps ensure food security for Maine children through local schools.

Now held twice a year (during Portland Downtown’s Summer Kickoff Weekend in June and Light Up Your Holidays in November), Shop for a Cause Day combines local shopping with charitable giving. Thirty downtown merchants participated in the event this summer – each donating a portion of their sales on June 10th to the Locker Project.

“In Maine, one in four children regularly experiences food insecurity,” said Katie Brown, executive director of the Locker Project. “Through our food pantries in 23 schools in Greater Portland and beyond, we are able to provide hungry kids with healthy class-time snacks as well as take-home food. The funds and awareness raised by Shop for a Cause Day will significantly help us re-stock our pantries as students return to school this fall.”

“Shop for a Cause Day is a wonderful reminder that Portland is such a giving community,” said Casey Gilbert, executive director of Portland Downtown. “We are humbled by the generosity of the many businesses who made the event possible – and thankful to the many residents and visitors who came out to shop local and make a difference!”

Portland Downtown and the Locker Project wish to thank all Shop for a Cause Day donors including: Arcana, The Black Dog, Bliss, Christmas Noel, Coffee By Design, Cool As A Moose, D. Cole Jewelers, Dean’s Sweets, The Fish & Bone, Folia, Fore River Gallery, Freak Street Imports, Hub Furniture, K Colette, LeRoux Kitchen, Liberty Graphics, Lisa-Marie’s Made in Maine, Little, Maine’s Pantry, Mexicali Blues, OTTO, Portland Downtown, Portland Press Herald, Portmanteau, The Rooted Collective: Barre + Yoga, Simon Pearce, The Sock Shack, Something’s Fishy, Springer’s Jewelers, Uncommon Paws, and Vena’s Fizz House.