Willow Orr’s mother Michele Colson tells the Wiscasset 10-year-old about every donation that comes in. “I feel that it’s good for her to know how much she’s loved and supported, because she’s going through a lot, so I figure any positive information I can feed her is a good thing,” Colson told Wiscasset Newspaper Monday. 

An autoimmune disorder surfaced last fall and, after chemotherapy, is in remission, but the illness damaged Orr’s kidneys irreparably, Colson and fellow Wiscasset Elementary School fifth grade mother Beth Bluteau of “Team Willow” said. A transplant is being sought; Orr has been on dialysis, with her mother beside her and, thanks to donations like the one American Legion Post 54 of Wiscasset just made, Colson said she can worry less about “covering some of my gas, and some of my bills. So it definitely helps me through my days.”

Colson and Bluteau each described the Legion’s $1,000 gift as very kind. “It brought tears to my eyes, and Michelle’s. The community has just really come together to support this little girl and her family,” Bluteau said.

Post Cmdr. William Cossette Jr. told Bluteau at the hall Friday, March 22 as they recalled the handoff, “You brought tears to my eyes, too.”

“When you guys handed me that check, it did me in,” Bluteau said smiling.

Post 54’s donations come from the bottles and cans people donate, which also go to paying the post’s bills, members said. “For the guys involved, it’s almost like a part-time job. They spend a lot of hours every week, collecting them from the locations and then bagging them up, counting them and  moving them off to the redemption facility” in Randolph, the post’s Mike Barnes said. He thanked the community for the bottles and cans he said bring in about $300-$400 a week.

That has made “the big difference,” Cossette said. “Years ago, we just struggled to keep our heads above water, but now we have plenty” for the post’s costs and to give out. 

The post also recently gave $400 to another local cause, the Cooper-DiPerri Scholarship Fund that helps people access Wiscasset Parks and Recreation programs. A committee reviews applications, which include financials, said Sheila Sawyer. “We try not to spend more than the (fund’s) interest, plus donations,” Sawyer, with an insurance background, and Vicki Hersom, with a banking background, are the committee’s longest serving members, Sawyer said. “She’s great with figures, and I’m great with knowing who’s connected to who.”

Another plus of having them onboard and reviewing applications is the two are also directresses in Wiscasset Female Charitable Society, which can help if an applicant meets its criteria, Sawyer said. And that allows the Cooper-DiPerri fund to help even more people have healthy lives, Sawyer said. So does the annual Winterfest, which recently raised more than $4,600 for Cooper-DiPerri, Sawyer said. For more on Cooper-DiPerri, visit wiscassetme.myrec.com

Besides Post 54’s recent donations to aid Willow Orr’s family, Cooper-DiPerri and more, the post makes quarterly donations to local food banks, the post’s Cliff Hendricks said. 

Instilling a sense of obligation to the community, state and nation is one of the Legion’s tenets, Hendricks noted. “And this is the community part, right here. So if there are any veterans out there who are looking to give back and help out, certainly” they would be welcome, he said.