The 2022 Giraffe Award Winners

mainechildrensalliance • November 22, 2022

The Maine Children’s Alliance is pleased to feature the recipients of the 2022 Giraffe Awards , which honor community heroes who “stick out their necks” for Maine children, youth, and families. Giraffe Award winners are individuals, organizations, and businesses who routinely go above and beyond, investing time, energy, and talent for the well-being of Maine kids and families. The winners of the 2022 Giraffe Awards are:

Bernstein Shur, Business Award . Founded in 1915, Bernstein Shur is a female-led, New England-based law firm, with offices in Portland, Augusta, and Manchester, NH. Bernstein Shur has become an industry leader in their parental leave policy, providing 16 weeks of paid leave to all new parents (attorneys and staff members) regardless of gender. In particular, the policy provides equal benefits to all new parents because of birth, adoption, or foster care placement. This family-friendly policy provides all new parents with flexibility in utilizing their paid leave time, and the policy benefits are immediately available to new employees.

Senator Cathy Breen, Legislator Award. Sen. Cathy Breen is finishing her fourth term in the Maine Senate. Senator Breen championed the creation of the Early Childhood Consultation program, aimed at reducing the rates of suspension and expulsion of young children, by providing resources and support to teachers and parents of children to address challenging behaviors. In 2022, she sponsored legislation to expand this program statewide. As chair of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, Sen. Breen provided leadership on many significant achievements, including the expansion of Medicaid; reaching voter-mandated 55% state funding for public PreK-12 education; supporting a budget to include universal school meals; extension of post-partum MaineCare coverage to 12 months; and expansion of Children’s Health Insurance Program.  

Charles Mugabe, Emerging Leader. Mr. Mugabe serves as the Program Co-Director of Refugee and Immigration Services at Catholic Charities of Maine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he coordinated a coalition of organizations to help provide COVID-19 social service support for members of Maine’s immigrant communities undergoing isolation and quarantine. More recently, Mr. Mugabe worked to help resettle Afghan refugees arriving in Maine, providing connection and support for housing, food, and benefits. Mr. Mugabe uses his personal experience immigrating to the U.S., to support refugees and asylum seekers in Maine.

Maine School Nutrition Association (MSNA), Organization Award. With over 300 members, MSNA represents school nutrition professionals statewide. Their purpose is to provide healthy meals and promote nutrition education to Maine’s school children to prepare them to succeed. These unsung heroes do the important work of quietly feeding 170,000 Maine kids every day at school, often a child’s most reliable source of nutrition. During the pandemic, school nutrition professionals across Maine went the extra mile by adapting and coordinating meal pickups and bus delivery, to ensure children still had access to school meals.

Spencer McCormick, Individual Award . Mr. McCormick grew up in the small town of Robbinston, raised to value community and volunteerism, while also witnessing the impact of substance abuse and mental health issues on young adults in the community. As a leader of the Calais Skatepark Committee, he has helped to develop a positive, safe, and active place for youth in the greater western-Washington County region. In addition to providing a space for children to advance their skate skills, he works to increase suicide awareness and to stress the importance of social and emotional health. Mr. McCormick’s love of his community is evident through the time and energy he volunteers with youth at the Skatepark, as a member of the Calais Downtown Revitalization Coalition, as a high school wrestling coach, and as a guide for outdoor recreation experiences for students.  

Zubeyda Shute, Youth Award. Ms. Shute has been a youth leader of the Young People's Caucus for the past three years. She is an alumnus of Westbrook High School, and a current college student. This past summer she worked across Young People’s Caucus and Gateway to Opportunity, to create a summer internship with the University of Southern Maine’s WMPG radio to create podcasts and digital stories to amplify youth voice and social change. She has continued to function as a mentor to new members of the Young People’s Caucus. Ms. Shute centers her work and her scholarship on racial justice, restorative justice, and women's rights.

The awards will be presented at MCA’s annual Champions for Children event, at Maple Hill Farm, on Thursday, December 1st, 2022. The program will run from 9am-11am. Breakfast will be served. Tickets can be purchased here . We hope to see you there!

A pie chart showing the percentage of people in person and online.
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
Maine’s college students – like students of all ages – had their learning disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. The impact on college enrollment in Maine reflects the trends nationally. Maine’s public university and community college systems have played a critical role in addressing the needs of students and American Rescue Act funds offer an opportunity for continued support to students to help them succeed in meeting their higher education goals.

By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
AUGUSTA, ME—On Tuesday the President released his blueprint for the federal budget , which if enacted, would be detrimental to Maine’s future and the health and well-being of our children, youth and families. The President’s proposals go back on the Federal Government’s long-held commitments to children in the areas of health, nutrition and education. These drastic cuts targeting programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will adversely affect child development in Maine and there will be serious consequences for years to come.
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
Through the Maine state budget, we can support solutions that respond to the needs of the moment and invest in building a more vibrant, equitable future for our children. an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen and stabilize families who continue to face significant health and economic challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. They also provide an opportunity to invest in the long-term recovery of our state, by investing in the programs and services that support the needs of working families, who are raising the next generation of Mainers, and who are the backbone of our workforce and communities.
A row of giraffe trophies are lined up on a table
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
http://www.mekids.org/nomination-form.php
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
the American Health Care Act
A graph showing the cost of care for an infant , toddler , and child
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
69 percent of Maine children under the age of six having both parents working to make ends meet
A red sign that says give today on it
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
A woman and two children are sitting on a couch looking at a tablet.
By mainechildrensalliance July 15, 2025
Show More