Few of us give a second thought to the water that comes from our taps, but some Mainers have water that may be contaminated. Unsafe levels of heavy metals, arsenic or PFAS are often in our drinking water because of our reliance on wells. According to the Maine Geological Survey, around 40% of Mainers rely on private wells and unlike public drinking water, these wells do not need to be tested for chemicals. Because of this, some communities are unsure if the water they are drinking is safe and how to fix the problem. Now, the Mission is collaborating with the MDI Biological Laboratory and an Island Institute Fellow to empower island residents to test drinking water and what mitigation measures might be possible to ensure water safety.
Jane E. Disney, the MDI Bio Lab’s Associate Professor of Environmental Health began the lab’s All About Arsenic + and Healthy Water/Healthy Aging programs to help provide access to water testing for older Mainers and to understand the relationship between aging and exposure to chemicals in drinking water. Disney is now working to expand the scope of the project to include island residents. “This partnership with the Mission gives us a unique way to engage with islanders of all ages who want to know more what is in their drinking water, whether it might be contaminated, and what to do about that,” she says.
Many island residents already know that the water they drink might be contaminated according to the Mission’s Director of Island Services Douglas Cornman.
“Over the course of my visiting and talking with islanders over the past eight years, I have noticed or been told about the lengths some islanders go to assure safe drinking water,” he explains. “Some islanders rely on neighbors who have safe water to bottle, some have purchased expensive filtration systems, others tell me that they have never tested and do not want to know, while others know that their water is unsafe and cannot access the resources to do anything about it.”
Through the partnership with the MDI Bio Lab, the Mission hopes to break down any barriers that are keeping residents from having their water tested as well as helping them identify how they can mitigate the issue.
Working with Island Fellow Morgan Karns from Island Institute, Douglas, Margaret Snell, Island Services Program Coordinator, and the Sunbeam crew will meet with island residents to let them know more about the program. Morgan already started meeting with islanders earlier this fall when the Sunbeam visited Matinicus, Isle au Haut, and the Cranberries to provide flu shots. “Dozens that we talked to said, ‘yes, I want to participate, please give me more materials and how can I get my water tested?’”
Soon, Morgan will begin to set up locations on each island where community members can pick up water testing kits and then drop them off once completed. In addition, students will be involved in this citizen science project, collecting water samples as part of the Lab’s National Institutes of Health Science Education Partnership Award.
Every September, Marilyn Nickson gets out her list and starts checking it twice. Marilyn, and a handful of other volunteers and Mission staff, spend months planning and preparing for Christmas before the first gift goes out the door. Marilyn, a former “Mrs. Christmas,” worked for the Mission for 37 years and retired in 2018. However, you would not know that during Christmas time, as hardly a day goes by without her presence at the “North Pole” on the Mission’s Downeast campus.
A few years before her retirement, Marilyn became Mrs. Christmas, a role that has been part of the Mission for decades. Mrs. Christmas runs the Christmas Program and is responsible for helping choose and deliver presents to recipients. While she has passed on the title of Mrs. Christmas, Marilyn has had a hand in the Christmas Program at the Mission for more than a decade.
When Marilyn took over the Program, it was still housed at the Mission’s previous home, La Rochelle in Bar Harbor. “The whole third floor was packed with stuff,” she explains. “It took me a long time to just go through everything.” She oversaw the move that brought the Christmas Program to the Downeast campus. That is where you can find Marilyn today, more than two months before Christmas, preparing the Weald Bethel Community Center for the holiday season.
On the lower floor of the Community Center, Christmas becomes a reality for many community members. Marilyn explains that the volunteers are given lists of names of people and sometimes a few notes about each person. While most think about the presents for kids, Marilyn says the Mission fills about the same number of requests for seniors. The Mission is one of the few programs to provide gifts for these community members, and each year the Mission reaches out to nursing and care homes for a list of residents as well as any special requests. Each resident receives a bag of toiletries (something that most facilities require residents to purchase), and the volunteers try to fill requests for specific items like pajamas and grippy socks, as well as candy, jewelry, or makeup. In an average year, Marilyn says the Christmas Program provides around 600 toiletry bags for nursing and group homes. Each facility also receives a community box with lap robes, blankets, movies, games, and books.
Families can also sign up for the Christmas Program and receive gifts for children. Parents and caregivers can send in their children’s interests, then volunteers pick presents for them. Parents and caregivers can also “shop” at the North Pole in the Weald Bethel Community Center if they prefer. Marilyn and the volunteers make sure each child receives a few toys as well as mittens, a hat, and a book. She says, “When we find the perfect items for a child, we are really excited and really happy.”
Douglas delivers Christmas presents on Matinicus
The Mission also continues to provide gifts for island residents, a tradition that started more than a century ago. Children living on islands usually receive a few small toys, a book, and a pair of mittens and hat. Every gift given by the Mission includes mittens and a hat, with more than 3,000 knitted and crocheted items being sent to the Mission every year.
With more than 11,000 gifts distributed to 1,533 people just last year, Marilyn has had a hand in tens of thousands of Christmases over the years. And she is not slowing down, she loves being part of the program. She quickly rattles off things the Mission needs every year: card games, gifts for teens, clothing, outdoor items. And she is ready to start choosing this year’s gifts, she says the first list came in last week.
The Mission has welcomed two new staff members to its leadership team since this summer, Christy Oliveri, Ed.D. and Sally Clinton.
Christy joined the Mission in June as EdGE Secondary and Post-Secondary Program Director. This position manages high school and college programming, which includes Journey, Davis Maine Scholarship, and Mission Scholarships.
Christy shares, “All of these programs are about increasing not only aspirations after high school, but also helping students access and succeed in higher education. They provide so many possibilities to youth Downeast. I grew up in Maine, and I wish I had access to some of these programs myself.”
Christy previously served as the Associate Dean of Student Success at Eastern Maine Community College where she led the college’s accommodation and disability services, counseling and advising programs, as well as residence life. In addition, she managed the college’s TRIO program, which provides services to students who are first-generation, income-eligible, or have a disability. The goal of TRIO is to increase collegiate retention and graduation rates of participants. Prior to that role, Christy spent 15 years working at colleges on the West Coast.
As the new Chief People Officer, Sally oversees the Mission’s human resources department focusing on professional development, planning, assessment, and volunteer and community relations.
“The Mission’s commitment to becoming a learning organization, supporting wellness for staff, and nurturing a positive, inclusive, and empowering culture in the organization and beyond is inspiring and exciting,” Sally says. “It is an honor to join the Mission and I am excited to support the team.”
With more than 20 years of experience working as a human resources and systems specialist in the nonprofit sector, Sally was a nonprofit consultant, owned a wellness studio, and was a Transformational Life and Health Coach on the Blue Hill peninsula. Through her work, she specializes in time management, communication, leadership skills, self-care, wellness, and healthy living. Sally founded and ran a nonprofit in Pennsylvania for almost ten years, gaining wide-ranging experience in all aspects of human resources and nonprofit management.
In the furthest reaches of Washington County and on many unbridged islands, cell service can be spotty and connection to the internet can be costly and slow. This digital divide leaves many people in the Mission’s service area unable to connect to basic services. Islanders struggle to attend telehealth appointments that are key to their treatment and low-income residents of Washington County face high internet costs with lagging speeds.
Less than a quarter of Mainers have access to broadband service, and more than 40,000 do not have any internet access. In rural areas of the state, most residents are paying more than $70 a month for their internet. This high cost puts a strain on many people’s budgets and almost half of Mainers said they had difficulty paying for services.
But change is on the horizon. Through the work of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), Maine was recently awarded a $272 million grant to expand high-speed internet across the state and bring internet access to areas where it was not available before. This decision came in part because of work the MCA did with organizations to create Digital Equity Plans for regions throughout the state. In Washington County, the Mission was part of the Sunrise County Economic Council’s Washington County Digital Equity Coalition and for our island residents, the Mission worked with the Island Institute to ensure these communities were represented in these plans.
As part of the Washington County Digital Equity Coalition, Mission staff provided insight and information on community needs for the county’s digital equity plan. The Sunrise County Economic Council is now working to implement this plan, which includes more education around affordable technology and digital literacy. Part of the plan includes educating people about Maine’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). This program gives qualified applicants, including those on SNAP, WIC, and SSI, a $30 credit towards the cost of internet. Right now, only thirty percent of eligible households in Washington County have applied. The Mission’s Downeast campus has also become a host site for the National Center for Digital Equity (NDEC) to expand digital literacy in the county. NDEC offers free classes on a variety of different topics from computer basics to setting up a Facebook account. The Mission hopes to be able to hold NDEC classes next year.
For island communities in Hancock and Waldo counties, the Mission represented them during Hancock and Waldo County Digital Inclusion Coalition meetings which were hosted by the Island Institute. Island communities also are usually smaller than their mainland counterparts, and sometimes lack the infrastructure to take on projects like these, The Mission made sure island specific concerns were included in that committee’s digital equity plans. Part of the focus was on the continued need for stronger connections to continue telehealth services on the islands. The crew of the Sunbeam also informed islanders about the statewide digital equity survey that went out earlier this year as well as the ACP.
As these digital equity plans progress, the Mission’s staff will continue to make sure that community members are informed and represented. Learn more about the work that Maine is doing around digital equity and see Washington County’s digital equity plan.
This past summer, Mission staff on the Downeast campus could be seen shuffling boxes and stacking furniture in storage pods. “We’re preparing for the big build,” said Downeast Director Jenny Jones. “Food pantry patrons and community members who frequent our campus are ready for the improved and expanded facilities.”
The first phase of a larger set of planned improvements for the Mission Downeast Campus will bring needed capital improvements and new features to the 63-acre property in the heart of Washington County. At the head of campus, a revamped administrative building will feature a welcome center that will act as a place where visitors can check-in and receive directions. This building will also include expanded storage and a new addition to house the Mission’s food pantry as well as workshop space for Food Security programming.
“To date, the builder has prepped the site, laid a slab, and will begin framing the addition to the existing building in the next few weeks,” shares Jenny. The building is expected to be open to the public by summer 2024.
Other planned improvements to the Mission Downeast campus include a pavilion and new ropes course for EdGE, two new play areas, an upgrade to the property’s trail system, a marked pedestrian path along Weald Bethel Lane, and retreat cabins for programming near the Weald Bethel Community Center. These improvements to the campus will allow the Mission to provide expanded services for Downeast residents.
President John Zavodny says, “The vision for a renewed Mission Downeast Campus really began in pre-pandemic community planning sessions. These upgrades will help build community, support families, and foster growth in young people Downeast. We’re excited to have ground broken and be making good progress.”
The Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative, Island Institute and Mission staff on the bow of the Sunbeam
In 2008, a group of teachers from Islesford, Isle au Haut, Matinicus, and Monhegan gathered for a retreat on the Sunbeam. During this time, they discussed the ways in which teaching in one- and two-room schoolhouses could be challenging and isolating, both for teachers and students. So, they decided to start a group, which would later become the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC), where they could meet regularly to offer each other support and get their students together. Knowing that they needed support for both technology and project coordination, the group approached Island Institute and in 2014, the TLC became part of that organization, with the Mission continuing to offer support.
15 years later, the group now includes teachers from Cliff, Chebeague, and Frenchboro, as well as Cuttyhunk, which has the only one-room island school in Massachusetts. The teachers meet weekly on Zoom during the school year and hold a retreat in the summer. This August, the TLC met for their two-day retreat on the Sunbeam.
On the first day, the teachers visited Frenchboro to explore the island and plan the Inter-Island Event (IIE). IIE is a special few days at the beginning of the school year for students, teachers, and the whole island community. Director of Island Services Douglas Cornman explains that the majority of island schools have less than five students in kindergarten through eighth grade this academic year. Occasions like IIE as well as two field trips held by TLC, “give students the opportunities to play, share space, and have a peer group.”
The second day of the teacher’s retreat provides teachers a time to collaborate and work on providing those peer group activities. Each year, the schools run a virtual book group where students are split into grade-level reading groups and host discussions. Some previous book group selections include Adventure on Dolphin Island,Beyond the Bright Sea, Esperanza Rising, and Mercy Watson. The book group gives students a time to learn alongside students their own age, an opportunity they might not get during their regular day-to-day.
And the IIE gives students a chance to foster these relationships with other students even more. This year’s IIE saw kids, parents, and teachers taking the ferry to Frenchboro for three days of fun and learning. Douglas says this year’s event included whiffle ball games, hikes, arts and crafts, a visit to the Frenchboro Historical Society, as well as a dance party. “IIE is magical. It is truly an island community event,” Douglas explains. “Though The Island Institute and the Mission supports the event, it is planned and executed by the host island community. They do all the work. Adults take time from their daily work and routines to help whether it is making food, offering an activity, or just making time to talk with a child from a different island.” And the kids know that this is a special time too, “It is hard to explain how amazing it is to watch kids who do not get to spend much time together in-person, gather and interact as though they are together all the time,” Douglas adds.
And even though the IIE is over, Douglas and the Mission continue to provide support to the TLC and island students. Douglas hosts movement classes on Zoom every Friday for all outer island students and visits schools whenever he is on an island. Find out more about the work the Mission does on outer islands.
