NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME – Year after year you make this tournament possible. As always, because of you, the tournament is a fun, competitive, and spirited fundraiser for the EdGE Program!
With your generous assistance, we are able to continue providing educational opportunities for young people in our Downeast communities.
Learn more about the 17th Annual EdGE Tennis Tournament. And thank you for following the links to our Sponsors web pages to see what they’re all about.
It’s Thank you Thursday. Today’s shout out of Mission love goes to the entire Mission Covid Vaccine Team.
Mission President John Zavodny, Island Health Services Director Sharon Daley, Island Outreach Director & Chaplain Douglas Cornman, and Mission Board member, Jill Goldthwait express their thanks during a mini-Sunbeam “thank you” cruise to the many good people who helped make a success the months long vaccination clinics on the several islands.
Maureen Giffin, RN, Peggy Akers, NP, EMTs, boat captains, pharmacists, and to everyone who said, “Yes” – we will do what it takes to get this done – thank you. With your help and knowledge 343 people were vaccinated over a three-month period.
A Downeast home built on wooden posts, that are susceptible to rot from moisture, is getting a solid foundation thanks to a Housing Barrier Removal Fund grant.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — July of this year marked the end of a remarkable Downeast housing program involving Downeast Community Partners, Mano en Mano, Sunrise Economic Council, The Community Caring Collaborative, and Maine Seacoast Mission. The five nonprofits were tasked with awarding $10K grants to Downeast residents to use either as down payment on a first home or for rehabilitation on an existing home.
The opportunity for this housing assist to Downeast residents was through an equally remarkable anonymous $500K donation to, as Mission Housing Rehabilitation Manager Scott Shaw explains, “assist with housing issues Downeast.”
The five nonprofits agreed to turn $400K into forty $10K housing grants, with $100K reserved for administering the Housing Barrier Removal Fund.
Scott Shaw was part of the selection committee grading grant applications. He said, “Clients who received the down payment assistance were required to meet with financial coach Joe Connors through Downeast Community Partners.” Mano En Mano held the funds and hired Elan Gabel-Richards to facilitate the process.
Grant application responses were graded in three areas:
Feasibility – How likely is the applicant to reach their goal in one year?
Impact – How does reaching the goal impact the lives of the people affected? How many people will be affected?
Leverage – How much are other resources leveraged to reach the applicant’s goal?
All forty grants were awarded in three rounds. Ten grants were awarded in January, twenty in May, and ten in July. Twenty-four grants were given for down payment assistance, sixteen for home repair projects.
As of September 16, five grantees had purchased homes. A sixth grantee is under contract on a piece of land for their mobile home. One home repair project is completed; ten projects are underway.
Awardees have up to a year to expend the funds for their projects.
Photos and story by Davis Maine Scholarship Director Christina Griffith.
NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME – The Mission’s first Davis Maine Scholar cohort just returned from a 660 mile, four-day road-trip to visit Wheaton College, Clark University, and University of New England in Massachusetts and Southern Maine. The cohort’s six scholars traveled with two mentors: Davis Maine Scholarship Director Christina Griffith, and Journey Program Director Dakin Hewlett.
Scholars enjoyed campus tours and information sessions, and time with admissions counselors learning about the application process. At lunch, college students shared stories of their studies and life on campus. Our cohort learned about support resources (i.e. academic tutoring, advising) and enjoyed conversation (and even a pizza dinner) with each college president.
From the peace of Peacock Pond on the Wheaton campus, to Clark’s extensive community service engagement in local neighborhoods, to UNE’s research and study abroad opportunities, our Scholars learned much and returned inspired. They represented well their families, schools, and Downeast communities. In the weeks ahead, Scholars will focus on completing their college applications with new focus and insight given their own lived experiences on each campus.
NORTHEAST HARBOR, ME – The Mission’s 17th Annual Tennis Tournament to benefit EdGE is Saturday, Sept. 25, at The Causeway Club, Southwest Harbor, ME. Money raised thanks to this event’s sponsors and participants helps fund the Mission’s innovative EdGE after-school, summer, and in-school programs for hundreds of children along the Downeast coast.
EdGE is designed to teach students to make smart, informed choices about their futures and develop the resources and skills to be successful and happy in life. EdGE students challenge themselves, engage with their communities and outdoors, and gain leadership skills.
We strongly believe cost should not be a barrier to participating in summer camps, after-school programs, and leadership workshops. All EdGE programs are free or low-cost, including free transportation and meals.
Learn more about our 17th Annual Tennis Tournament. Rain date is Sunday, Sept. 26.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — EdGE Maine Seacoast Mission is looking for part-time staff for its after-school programs. There are openings at multiple after-school sites including Rose M. Gaffney Elementary, Harrington Elementary, and Jonesport Elementary.
