United Insurance’s Response to the Lewiston Tragedy

Like the rest of the country, the employees at all 14 of our offices were stunned to hear about the horrific shootings in Lewiston. None of the staff at our nearby Auburn office were directly effected, but that city and the surrounding towns will be in mourning for a long time to come.

To show support for Lewiston and the surrounding areas, our Caribou and Presque Isle offices participated in Wear Red for Lewiston Day at the request of the Lewiston Career Center.

On Friday November 3rd, Tree Street Youth organized Love Lewiston Day and Auburn staff supported got right on board. Office Manager Jim Walton and his team picked up 54 white ribbons from Tree Street Youth that they tied to trees around town.

They also wrote Thank You cards to first responders to let them know how much the appreciate their efforts.

In addition to showing our support for Lewiston, we also want to do something about the financial challenges faced by the families of those who were killed, the survivors who are recovering from their injuries and the employees of local businesses impacted by the shelter in place order. On Monday, November 6, United Insurance CEO Zack Frechette and newly hired Director of Marketing and Community Engagement Jim Darroch presented a $10,000 check to the Maine Community Foundation’s Lewiston-Auburn Response Fund: Victims and Families. 

We chose the Maine Community Foundation because of their 40-year history of “bringing people and resources together to build a better Maine”  and the structure/relationships they have in place to ensure our donation goes to the people who need it most. To keep the spirit of giving going, we shared with our employees a verified list of GoFundME Campaigns for their consideration. At the suggestion of our Auburn office staff, we also encouraged our staff to perform random acts of kindness in their local communities, such as picking up the tab for the person behind you at the drive thru, leaving a treat for the stressed out check out person at the supermarket, checking in on a friend or neighbor you haven’t seen in a while.

The entire United Insurance family mourns the lives lost and forever altered during the Lewiston Tragedy. At moments like this, the famous quote “be the change you wish to see in the world” seems particularly appropriate to our team. We’re not naïve enough to think that random acts of kindness will stop someone from making a terrible decision, but we also believe positive energy can have a snowball effect.  There’s no guarantee the person you help feel valued, appreciated, or less alone will do the same for someone else…but imagine if they did?