CHERRYFIELD, ME — Program Manager Dakin Hewlett and Program Coordinator Briana West shared this update about the Mission’s EdGE Journey six-year youth mentoring program. EdGE Journey, launched in 2017, is made possible by the Emanuel and Pauline A. Lerner Foundation and its mentoring-based initiative, Aspirations Incubator:
This past weekend, due to the pandemic, EdGE Journey students in Cohort 3 met as a group for the first time since they were selected into the program. The Narraguagus Jr/Sr High School soon-to-be 9th grade students eagerly awaited the opportunity to campout overnight at the Mission’s Weald Bethel Community Center in Cherryfield, and begin building stronger connections with their peers and Journey staff.
They kicked off the weekend by helping Mission staff unload 17,000 pounds of food for the food pantry. Later, the students supported each other during ropes course challenges, discussed their hopes and goals for the upcoming high school transition, shared laughs while swimming at Spring River, and enjoyed s’mores by the campfire.
The trip ended with the Cohort cooking an entire meal for a crowd of community members attending the Downeast Table of Plenty on Sunday evenings.
The Mission Journey staff would like to recognize the dedication, grit, and resiliency these youth leaders have shown over the past year. They look forward to more opportunities for exploration and the continued journey ahead!
Learn more about the EdGE Journey program by contacting Dakin Hewlett at dhewlett@seacoastmission.org.
BAR HARBOR, ME — Congratulations Class of 2020 students and best wishes for high school!
Journey Program Coordinator Briana West ended the academic year with heart and spirit, delivering Graduations in a Box to our 2020 8th grade Journey graduates. Bri used this project to catch up with her students in person for the first time since schools shifted to remote learning as a Covid-19 precaution. The students loved their creatively decorated boxes that included leather journals, sweet treats and other celebratory bits!
Bri said she is looking forward to follow-up meetings, albeit physically distanced, with her students this summer.
Journey is a six-year youth mentoring program. Made possible by the Lerner Foundation and its mentoring-based initiative, Aspirations Incubator, Journey is designed to raise/sustain aspirations of rural Maine middle and high school students.
BAR HARBOR, ME — These photos are from our initial CEECoast College Exploration and Engagement retreat the Maine Seacoast Mission (MSM) hosted, June 30 to July 2 at College of the Atlantic (COA) in Bar Harbor.
A dozen wonderful sophomores from Sumner and Narraguagus High Schools were selected to participate in this college readiness program providing mentoring and support as the students transition to and through college.
During the retreat the students enjoyed the beautiful COA campus, toured the college’s Beech Hill Farm, which is a working farm growing fresh vegetables, participated with COA professors in workshops, did team building activities and an art project.
Along with MSM Program Director for New Education Initiatives Christina Griffith, MSM Scholarship recipient and recent Husson University graduate Tristan Alley, and MSM Scholarship recipient and EdGE Journey Coordinator Briana West served as chaperones during the retreat.
