BAR HARBOR, ME — Student Pathways includes Mission programs that provide mentoring and support for Downeast and Island middle, high school and college students.
Through individual mentoring, group workshops, scholarships and enrichment opportunities, we work to help all students develop the confidence, insights and information they need to successfully navigate their transitions to and through high school and along their eventual college and/or career pathways.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — It was a delight to welcome campers to the Downeast Campus in July for an action-packed summer experience. The sound of laughter was abundant as EdGE staff provided the first in person programming since schools closed in March.
We offered four weeks of a modified version of summer camp that followed State of Maine guidelines and CDC recommendations. Our number one priority was keeping students, families, and staff safe. Camp activities were classic EdGE, modified for mask wearing and social distancing. Students took part in cooking, DSLR cameras photography, science experiments, engineering, trail hiking, volleyball, basketball, and many more engaging activities. One summer camp highlight was the opportunity for students to have much-needed social interaction with their peers and EdGE staff.
Through generous grants and partnerships we provided many extras to students attending camp.
Each Friday, the Mission food pantry provided a box of food to all campers and their families. Some families took part in a Good Shepherd Cooking Matters course where they were provided over the four weeks of camp with food for six dinners to cook as a family.
An Evelyn S. and K.E. Barrett Foundation grant provided books to all campers and students in the summer meals program. Students selected a few books to read. We bought those specific books for them.
With a Healthy Acadia grant we provided students activity kits containing STEM, Art, and outdoor activities they could explore and enjoy in August.
EdGE Summer Camper creating with Olivia Dyer inside Weald Bethel Community Center.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — EdGE Summer Camp. Budding young artists explore foam and Gelli plate printmaking techniques with instructor Olivia Dyer. Thank you, EdGE Site Coordinator Jennifer Kearns for these photos.
Douglas Cornman meets with students on Frenchboro in 2018.
www.islandinstitute.org
July 22, 2020
The Sunbeam holds its course
OUT OF THE WATER AND ONLINE, MAINE SEACOAST MISSION’S CONTINUES
By Frances Mize
Built in 1995 and operated now by the Bar Harbor-based Maine Seacoast Mission, the 75-foot long, steel-hulled Sunbeam V clears harbors of ice in the winter months, and in all seasons serves as a place of fellowship and communion for those unbridged islands of Maine that support year-round populations.
Douglas Cornman, director of island outreach, whose work ranges from leading worship services to arranging an anthology of creative works from the islands, notes that “the boat’s never locked, the coffee is always hot. Folks are welcome on board, and we’ll just sit and chat.”
While the rest of the world struggles to fall into the rhythms of Zoom meetings and a life wrenched online, this sort of digital connection is nothing new for the Sunbeam. In addition to serving as a space for community, telemedicine equipment aboard the ship ensures that islanders have access to quality, reliable healthcare.
Director of Island Health Services Sharon Daley travels to the islands and performs routine checkups herself, but islanders are also put in touch via video call with physicians and mental healthcare providers on the mainland.
It’s Thank you Thursday and today’s shout out of Mission Love goes to the Area Interfaith Outreach Pantry and Emergency Services.
AIO was started 30 years ago by a group of congregations in the Midcoast who came together around the idea of creating a supportive place for Knox County residents who need of food or energy assistance to go.
When Covid-19 prompted much less to-and-from traveling to Maine’s unbridged islands, AIO worked with Maine Seacoast Mission and Penobscot Island Air to keep the North Haven and Matinicus Island Food Pantries restocked and residents in need fed. When your food pantry is 22 miles at sea from the mainland, fresh food availability is all the more essential.
The Mission Island Health Services Director Sharon Daley said, “AIO and Penobscot Air have gone out of there way to make these food deliveries happen and are willing to think out side the box to do so. When fog came in Penobscot Air had to store the food in their freezers, transport it to a ferry, and load it on a truck. Getting food there is a team effort of AIO, Penobscot Air, and island volunteers.”
The Mission greatly appreciates AIO’s mission to respectfully and compassionately support those in need in Knox County with food and energy assistance.
Photography: Exploring the functions of our new cameras in our photography group.
Triscuits: Taking survival to another level – grinding down the wheat
The science of making green slime.
Forts: The perfect spot for learning how to build a shelter.
Olivia Frog: Finding some wildlife on our nature trails.
Photography: Exploring the functions of our new cameras in our photography group.
Camp cooking: Campfire blueberry muffins cooked in an orange.
Hand-washing: Proper hygiene being demonstrated at one of our outside sinks.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Thank you to EdGE Site Coordinator Jennifer Kearns for these photos taken the first week of EdGE Summer Camp 2020. As we’ve said before, this year’s EdGE Summer Camp is a much modified version of previous EdGE Summer Camps.
But even with a cap on Summer Campers attending under Covid-19 State of Maine guidance — the kids are having a blast learning new skills, sharing new experiences, and making new friends.
Here then is Jennifer’s collection of photos of first week EdGE Summer Camp kids on nature trails, learning photography, culinary arts, basic woods survival skills, and (of course!) how to make green slime.
