La Rochelle – The Colket Center
BAR HARBOR, ME — The Maine Seacoast Mission’s Colket Center headquarters building in Bar Harbor is closed to visitors. Staff is working remotely so please feel free to reach them through the usual contact information.
Please call the main number 207.288.5097 with any questions.
BAR HARBOR, ME — All Maine Seacoast Mission’s EdGE in school programs are currently suspended. Our instructors are developing at-home alternatives for our wonderfully creative students.
We are also working with school partners who have asked us to help ensure healthy food for our students during this time of social distancing.
Mission President John Zavodny said, “We love our EdGE kids and will do everything we can to help. The one-thousand students and their families who rely on us, can rest assured we remain here to support them through this tough time.”
Maine Seacoast Mission will be ready to resume after EdGE school programs for our students as soon as it is safe to do so.
Matinicus Island. Photo by Sharon Daley, RN.
March 19, 2020
www.mainebiz.biz
Maine’s ‘unbridged’ islands hunker down
By Laurie Schreiber
Islands in Maine without bridges to the mainland are taking special steps to protect residents from the threat of coronavirus.
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“We’re taking our cues from our island communities,” [Mission President John] Zavodny said. “North Haven has taken the step of prohibiting non-island residents. Whether you agree with that decision or not, we think the spirit is a good one, of trying to self-isolate, trying to flatten the curve.”
The mission’s regularly scheduled island visits are suspended through March 31. However, the suspension doesn’t mean the mission is unavailable to island residents, he emphasized. His team is discussing ways to best support island residents during the pandemic and would like to hear their ideas.
BAR HARBOR, ME — Our Mission Scholarship application deadline is May 1, 2020. However, with COVID-19 school and college closures, we will be be flexible with the May 1 deadline, considering applications case-by case.
If you need to request additional time to submit your supporting documents — particularly your transcript and letter of recommendation — please email Terri Rodick, Scholarship Director: trodick@seacoastmission.org
Thank you.
Mission President John Zavodny
BAR HARBOR, ME — Through ice storms, fire, world wars, recession, and countless Nor’easters, the Maine Seacoast Mission has supported Maine’s isolated communities on the outer islands and in Downeast coastal communities since 1905. Never is Mission support more needed than in times like these.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for the people supported by the Maine Seacoast Mission. While isolation may slow the spread of the virus in our communities it also limits access to food, to services, and to community. From groceries to health care to human connection, everything is more dear and more difficult to come by in remote communities. During times of crisis, satisfying basic human needs gets harder still.
Compounding the challenge, the very community events, meals, and activities that help sustain our kids, families, and elders – like the Mission’s Downeast Table of Plenty, EdGE afterschool programs, and Food Pantry – become a source of concern and must be considered with great care and offered, as possible, with real creativity.
With creativity and commitment, the Maine Seacoast Mission will do everything we can during this crisis to continue to provide access to healthy food, community building, programs for kids, housing rehabilitation, health care access, island support, spiritual support, and access to other help. Programs for children might be online or on paper, food might be distributed differently, and community building might be accomplished through phone visits, but the Mission will continue to serve.
The Mission Commitment During COVID-19. And always.
* During this time of extreme challenge, to the best of our abilities the Maine Seacoast Mission will:
* Continue to be guided by our mission of service to Maine’s isolated communities on the outer islands and in Downeast coastal communities.
* Prioritize the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, community members, and families.
* First address basic needs, then continue to strengthen individuals and build community through services, programs, and individual support.
* Conduct our work in a spirit of hope, creativity, and compassion to ground, reassure, and inspire each other and our communities.
* Support our staff through the Mission’s compensation and benefits system, foster creative ways to continue work, and facilitate employee self-care.
* Coordinate with other agencies and follow the guidance of medical and emergency management authorities and encourage others to do the same.
For 115 years, the Mission has worked to build community in some of Maine’s most isolated communities. Now those communities are being tested.
In this time of need during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maine Seacoast Mission will continue to strengthen Maine’s isolated communities on the outer islands and in Downeast coastal communities to the best of our abilities, in a spirit of hope, and in whatever way possible.
Please take care of yourself, your families, and your community in this challenging time. If you can, also consider a gift to the Maine Seacoast Mission so we can continue our work with Maine’s most vulnerable communities.
CHERRYFIELD, ME — Food security is a key focus of Maine Seacoast Mission . The Mission’s Food Pantry and Senior Commodities program are always buzzing with activity, ensuring the neighbors we serve have fresh, healthy food.
As a “distancing” precaution against COVID-19, Mission Director of Service Programs Wendy Harrington and her co-workers, came up with an alternative “drive-thru” concept. Food Pantry and Senior Commodities participants called in their orders ahead of time. Volunteers prepared food orders. Participants arrived in their cars and, directed by Jillian’s new hand-painted sign, drove up to a volunteer who delivered the food orders to the cars.
Nicely done. Onward and upward! Learn more about the Mission’s work with food.