by maineseacoast | Jun 4, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Housing Rehabilitation, Maine Seacoast Mission, News, Scott Shaw
Housing Rehabilitation Program Manager Scott Shaw
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Earlier this year, Housing Rehabilitation Manager Scott Shaw wrote with a “heavy heart,” a letter to year 2020 Housing Rehab volunteer groups. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Scott said, Maine Seacoast Mission was not providing stay over accommodations for Housing Rehab volunteer groups this season. This year, for safety’s sake, volunteers should stay home, said Scott.
The 2020 Housing Rehab program, however, is still going forward in a modified version. You might say we’ve rebuilt the Housing Rehab program. Temporarily.
Houses and mobile homes in Washington County are often old and hard to heat, especially on limited budgets. Through the Mission’s Housing Rehabilitation program we normally fix or rebuild twenty houses a year. Repairs and renovations range from painting to insulated mobile home skirting to new roofs.
In a normal season, this very worthwhile work is done primarily by our great volunteers from all over the country. This summer, without these traveling volunteers, Housing Rehab is focusing on homeowner applicants who have their own help available — family, friends — to do the home improvement tasks, as well as some local volunteers. Housing Rehab will vet the projects and supply the building materials. We look forward to working with households to make needed improvements to their homes!
by maineseacoast | May 31, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Food Pantry, Island Health, Maine Seacoast Mission, News
publicnewsservice.org
Nonprofit Gets Creative to Deliver Food to Maine Islands
May 29, 2020
BAR HARBOR, Maine – Demand for emergency food from food pantries is up around 50% in Maine since the COVID-19 outbreak. And when you live on an island, it can be that much harder to get.
The Maine Seacoast Mission has gotten creative to deliver groceries to people on the islands who need them.
They had to stop using their boat for deliveries when the shutdown began in March. Instead, they quickly coordinated with Penobscot Air to fly the food in.
Sharon Daley is the director of Island Health for the Mission, and also an island resident. She describes what many islanders have been facing.
“They’ve got a double issue with food,” says Daley. “First of all, people not working – lobstering being bad, sternmen not being able to earn any income right off. Then, there’s also the issues of getting the food out to the islands.”
The Maine Seacoast Mission also has helped set up food pantries on Matinicus and Frenchboro islands with the support of the Area Interfaith Outreach or ‘AIO’ Food Pantry and the Bar Harbor Food Bank.
Full Story
by maineseacoast | May 29, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Downeast Campus, Food Pantry, Maine Seacoast Mission, News, Weald Bethel Community Center
Starlet Moffitt, Joe O’Campo, Levi Shaw, Stephanie Moores and Wren Wakeman. They were packaging foods to get ready for distribution. They all work for the Mission.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Megan Smith, Maine Seacoast Mission Community Resource Coordinator, gives yesterday’s “culturally relevant food” distribution at the Mission Food Pantry a big “Wow!” In a follow-up email, Megan said:
“What a wonderful amazing day. The partnership and camaraderie I saw today was beyond compare. We were able to serve the “culturally relevant food” to 105 families! Adding the number of families served yesterday for our regular day brings the total families served to 163. We are all exhausted but happy that we were able to fulfill so many requests.
“I want to say thank you to all the staff and volunteers from Mano en Mano and Seacoast Mission who made this possible. Without you we wouldn’t have been able to turn this around so quickly,” Megan said.
Learn more about the Mission Food Pantry.
by maineseacoast | May 28, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Downeast Campus, Maine Seacoast Mission, News
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Ruth Feldman created the Little Free Library at Vasquez Restaurant in Milbridge.
Ms. Feldman writes, “Please spread the word that a whole new shipment of books have just been donated to the Milbridge Free Library located at Vazquez in Milbridge!
“Author/Illustrator Annette LeBlanc Cate donated one of her signed books MAGIC RABBIT to ‘the children of Maine’, and then a whole box of books and magazines (MUSE) ranging from picture books to chapter books.
“Summer reading for sure!”
by maineseacoast | May 21, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Downeast Campus, Food Pantry, Maine Seacoast Mission, News
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Megan Smith, Interim Food Pantry Manager at the Mission, sends this photo of the Food Pantry’s new “Fresh Produce” sign proudly hanging on the canopy covering the fresh produce display.
This set-up is used on Food Pantry drive-through days to offer customers a chance to see and choose their favorite produce.
by maineseacoast | May 19, 2020 | COVID-19 Updates, Downeast Campus, Maine Seacoast Mission, News
Isaac Marnik
CHERRYFIELD, ME — I wanted to give a Project ReachOut update on the great work happening.
Our calls have reached 830 local families, some needing help in several ways including: food assistance, home repairs, fuel assistance, rent/mortgage assistance, car repairs, electric bills, and appliance repairs.
Through calling we’ve also heard great notes and stories. For example, a 91-year old woman conveyed her gratitude to the Mission. She said the Mission paid for her schooling at University of Maine Machias, making it possible for her dream to be an elementary school teacher. She graduated UMM in 1974, taught in the Towns of both Milbridge and Columbia Falls, and retired when she was about 60 years old.
We could not be doing all of this great work without our amazing EdGE crew and volunteer callers making the connections with the families.
Isaac Marnik
EdGE Interim Director
Maine Seacoast Mission
