Hundreds of people visit the Mission’s Downeast Campus in Cherryfield each week. Some of these visitors include seniors utilizing the food pantry, kids climbing on the challenge course as part of EdGE, people with their dogs taking walks on some of the trails, and families enjoying a meal as part of the Downeast Table of Plenty. At the heart of this community is a group of volunteers working to support the Mission staff and programs and make the campus a more welcoming place. 

Around a dozen volunteers help at the pantry every week. They stock the shelves, pick up food from retail partners, greet neighbors as they come in the door, and so much more. On a busy day, it is common to see volunteers helping to put food out while chatting with neighbors and friends. Volunteers also make deliveries to those who cannot physically make it to the Mission, driving as far away as Machias to make sure people have what they need. “Our community is truly blessed to have such a caring group of volunteers in the pantry. They perform many tasks from culling produce and picking up store donations to cleaning and delivering,” says Stacy Openshaw Food Pantry Coordinator. “We couldn’t reach as many people as we do without the help of our volunteers.” 

Many community members use these trails daily and the EdGE and Journey programs often use them during their programs. However, there had not been a large-scale effort in recent years to clean the debris on the trails, making them overgrown and hard to navigate. With chainsaws, rakes, and loppers in hand, they cleared downed trees and branches, raked wood chips, and cleaned up overlooks.  

Without the support of the volunteers, many of these smaller projects may be harder to do, if not impossible. “Volunteers are extremely important to the work we do at the Mission,” explains Downeast Director Jenny Jones. “They provide not only a lot of time and energy but also build community with those we are serving.”  

One Mission program that heavily relies on volunteers is the Christmas Program which provides thousands of gifts to individuals and families in Downeast and coastal Maine. Volunteers help sort, pick, wrap, and deliver gifts throughout October, November, and December. If you are interested in volunteering for any Mission program, please fill out this form on our website.  

The Mission has opened registration for our EdGE afterschool programs for the 2024-2025 school year. EdGE offers afterschool programs for students at seven schools in Washington County: Beals Elementary, Cherryfield Elementary, D.W. Merritt Elementary in Addison, Harrington Elementary, Jonesport Elementary, Milbridge Elementary, and Rose M. Gaffney Elementary in Machias. Homeschoolers in these school districts are also welcome to attend. Afterschool programming begins in October and operates throughout the school year.  

The Mission’s EdGE Youth Development Coordinators oversee afterschool programs also staffed by school district teachers, outdoor coordinators, artists, college, and high school students. EdGE Primary Program Director Isaac Marnik says, “Staff are currently preparing for afterschool programming and are excited to start working with students at each of the schools. We look forward to offering a variety of activities and opportunities for students to enjoy.” 

Parents or guardians at these seven schools can register on the Mission’s website. For help with registration, please call (207) 546-4466. Registration is open throughout the school year. 

The Mission is also currently hiring for its afterschool programs, especially at the Harrington and Machias locations. Positions are for four to eight hours a week and pay anywhere from $14.15 to $22 an hour. Learn more and apply at https://seacoastmission.org/employment/.  

On a beautiful, summer night in Bar Harbor, the Mission honored two of its partners for their continued support of the Downeast and island communities at the 2024 Sunbeam Award Gala. The Diana Davis Spencer Foundation was honored for their committed philanthropic partnership with the Mission and Island Institute was recognized for their enduring role as a community partner.  

In his opening remarks, Mission President John Zavodny said, “Maine Seacoast Mission is grateful for the support that the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Diana [Davis Spencer] and Abby [Moffat], have shown over the years for children, families, older adults, and communities. We are grateful to the Island Institute for their creative commitment to partnership past and partnership to come in service to island and coastal communities in Maine.”  

The Mission also honored Island Institute, with Institute President Kim Hamiliton accepting the award on behalf of the organization. Ann and David Ingram introduced Ms. Hamiliton saying, “Both [Maine Seacoast Mission and Island Institute] understand the unique challenges facing Maine’s island communities and work to share hands-on, real-time solutions.” In her speech, Hamiliton highlighted some of the organizations’ shared work with special emphasis on the Outer Islands Teaching and Learning Collaborative (TLC) and the current work of Island Institute Fellow Morgan Karns. She remarked, “Our organizations are intertwined in so many wonderful ways because of a shared vision for Maine’s islands—one that is shaped by community, inclusion, listening, and importantly trust.”  

The Mission thanks everyone who made the evening a success, including the Gala’s sponsors for their generous support. This year’s Platinum Sponsors were Bar Harbor Bank & Trust and Wyman’s of Maine; Bronze Sponsors included Billings Diesel & Marine, First National Bank, Maggie Keohan, Goldman Sachs, and The Snowman Group; Copper Sponsors were Acadia Bike & Coastal Kayaking Tours, Eaton Peabody, and Machias Savings Bank; and Corporate Donor Front Street Shipyard.  

Watch a video of this year’s event on the Mission’s YouTube page. Next year’s Sunbeam Award Gala will be on Thursday, August 21, 2025, and awardees will be announced in the Spring of 2025.  

70 volunteers from 11 states made their way to the Mission’s Downeast Campus this summer to make much needed repairs to homes in the area. For more than 20 years, hundreds of volunteers have each spent a week in Cherryfield as part of the Housing Improvement program, helping the community and exploring Downeast Maine.  

“All of the volunteers showed amazing grit, working through rainstorms, extreme heat, and difficult situations” says Housing Improvement Program Director Jennifer Kempthorne. “And they did it all with a cheerful attitude and kindness.” The groups stay on the Mission’s Downeast Campus, and when they find themselves with down time, they explore the local area. Some excursions include visiting the nearby Schoodic Peninsula or Acadia National Park, enjoying a lobster bake, or going to one of the nearby beaches.  Some groups come back and volunteer over multiple years, creating a deep connection with the area, and program, and of course, the Mission.  

This year, the groups also learned more about the Mission’s vast history, and its work both in Downeast Maine and on outer, unbridged islands. Devin Mack, Development Operations Associate, shared more about the Mission’s program areas: island health and outreach, primary and secondary education, scholarships, food security, community engagement, and housing improvement. These program areas all fall under the umbrella of the Social Determinants of Health, which are five non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. This framework has been accepted by the United Nations (UN) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, with the UN writing that the Social Determinants of Health can be more important than access health care or lifestyle choices in a person’s health outcomes. These talks gave volunteers a greater idea of the breath of programming the Mission offers. Devin also shared with volunteers how they could stay engaged with the Mission year-round through things like donations through both the online giving platform and through the Mission’s program and Christmas wish lists. 

Learn more about the Housing Improvement program and its impact.