BAR HARBOR, ME — This week’s Thank you Thursday shout-out of Mission Love goes to Women for Healthy Rural Living (WHRL), a partner on so many levels in strengthening community. WHRL is part of the Downeast Roots collaboration leveraging resources to help families thrive, an organizer of diaper drives to offer food pantry patrons, an animator of Incredible Edible Milbridge, and a provider of range of educational programs that illustrate how WHRL is a passionate and persistent advocate for health and wellness!
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Contact Scott K Fish, Communications and Marketing
sfish@seacoastmission.org or 207-458-7185
Mission Stays in Touch with Downeast and Island Families with Project ReachOut
BAR HARBOR, ME — Very positive. All good. Appreciative. These are a few ways people are responding to a new Maine Seacoast Mission initiative called Project ReachOut. It is an initiative Mission President John Zavodny said “is based on a simple idea. We are all better off when we connect.”
In response to coronavirus physical distancing, the Mission suspended several popular activities where community members gathered at the Downeast campus in Cherryfield or on the islands to share a public supper, a morning coffee and conversation, musical evenings, and other events. Knowing how important social interactions are in keeping communities strong, the Mission redirected its creativity, finding new ways to do its work. ReachOut is one example.
President Zavodny explained, “Through Project ReachOut, Mission staff and volunteers call Mission friends and neighbors to check in, offer a word of support, and find out how we can help. Sometimes the call is enough. Sometimes we can help in other ways. Always, the personal connection is important.”
Isaac Marnik’s duties as Assistant Director of the Mission’s EdGE programs are temporarily redirected, in part, to oversee Project ReachOut. Several Mission staff, whose daily work is also changed in response to the coronavirus, are making phone calls to about 1500 families involved with the Mission in Downeast coastal and unbridged island communities.
In addition, the Mission is asking for volunteer help to make these phone calls. Volunteers are asked to complete an application and, after training, are provided a list of people to call and a basic call script. As of Monday, April 20, Mission staff and volunteers had reached around 300 families and individuals, said Isaac. Those called include families in the EdGE program, seniors, residents of the unbridged islands, and other households in the Mission service area.
“Everyone is appreciative of the call,” he said. We always ask if the person we’re calling would like us to call again. Many of them say, No, we appreciate your call, but we’re good. Other people ask us to call weekly. And we’ve reached several people with pressing needs such as food or an appliance or car repair,” Isaac said.
If you want to help connect, to make phone calls for Project ReachOut on behalf of the Mission, please fill out and submit your volunteer application online here. You can also email resources@seacoastmission.org or call 207-546-5860 and ask for a volunteer application.
“By staying connected, by helping out, and by focusing on the beautiful response of good people in a time of crisis, we can make more good memories than bad ones. Let’s do that,” said Mission President Zavodny.
BELFAST, ME — After spending months addressing design aspects of the Sunbeam not directly related to her operation, I was finally able to get aboard and get a glimpse of my life as an actual captain. Due to [coronavirus] distancing regulations, the yard crew left the marine electronics for me on Friday night. I went aboard over the weekend and began tinkering with the layout.
This is a simple but robust commercial set-up. The large Koden radar on the starboard side is the only remaining piece of equipment from the former helm. In the middle are two Hatteland marine monitors. One is fed from a Furuno radar unit (black box) under the dash, and the second is running navigational software from a marinized PC also located under the dash. Completing the set-up is a standard Furuno depth sounder.
In all of this modern technology, we do not forget the importance of the compass (far port side) which was a gift from the fishermen on Matinicus Island given at the launch of Sunbeam IV in 1964.
Source: Sunbeam Capt. Mike Johnson, April 16, 2020
BAR HARBOR, ME — This week’s shout-out of Mission Love goes to the Island Eldercare Network. With skill and caring, this group of dedicated individuals from 10 unbridged islands supports seniors aging well in place and in island eldercare facilities.
Meeting weekly via Zoom, they share knowledge to maintain the well-being of island seniors. The importance of their work has never been more evident than today.
Check out this video from their January retreat which addressed issues ranging from dementia care to self-care.
