Today, like most days, I am very thankful to be working in such an exciting and dynamic community of caring people who are trying to make life better for Maine children and families each day. I am thankful, because in so many ways, we are mobilizing volunteers, supporters and staff to provide support, encouragement and tools to empower. We are having conversations about how to keep growing, become more responsive and further the mission of The Maine Children’s Home.
We are thrilled that we have been able to support more than 100 children from across the region to attend summer camp. This is possible due to the Keller Camp Fund for The Friends Camp and many other generous donations through the Summer Camp Scholarship Program. We recognize that it is vital to support children to be outside, to run and play, to explore new friendships at camp and find new wings to fly. Thank you for partnering with us to support these hopes and dreams. We have also made a number of changes to the playgrounds this summer. We invite you to come by and take a tour, explore the beautiful gardens, see the children hard at play and meet some of our dedicated and skilled staff.
Richard Dorian, Executive Director
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News from The Children’s Place
Our Vegetable Gardens
The gardening collaboration with the Sharon Abrams Teen Parent School Program/Waterville Alternative Ed is progressing beautifully. The ten raised beds are already producing lettuce and peas, which the preschoolers and teens have sampled. Green beans, squash, tomatoes will be ready soon and carrots, beets and other plants are being thinned as needed. The preschoolers check each day to see if the plants need water and are learning which things are weeds and which are vegetable plants. A few teens are spending time this summer caring for the gardens – weeding, watering and thinning out the crowded plants to optimize growth in the gardens.
Stay tuned, our greenhouse has arrived and will be installed soon!
Still looking for fun experiences to do with your family during this last month of summer? Check out this Summer Bucket List of 100 fun ideas for families and enjoy August
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Preschoolers sampling peas
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Teen student Cassidy Hartin holds up carrot she harvested from the garden.
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Our Giving Tree
The Children’s Place would like to pay homage to the large, beautiful maple tree that stood in the front yard at The Maine Children’s Home and recently needed to be removed due to the health of the tree. Did you know that the lifespan of maple trees can be up to 300 years and the trees can grow to more than 100 feet tall?
This majestic tree was an integral part of playground activity for the children that included: shade from its massive leaf canopy, dancing and playing under and around the tree (it took 16 children standing shoulder-to-shoulder to encompass the circumference of the tree’s trunk), as well as exploring the leaves, bark and numerous living creatures inhabiting the tree.
Even though the tree is gone, it is still providing many gifts – wood chips to go around the gardens, tree cookies to move around the play yard designing pathways for play, and a huge stump to climb on.
Thank you maple tree!
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Help Support a Future Miss Maine Teen Contestant!
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Cassidy Hartin
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We are reaching out to ask community members to join us in supporting one of our teens from the Waterville Alternative High School to achieve her dream of participating in the Miss Maine Teen Beauty Pageant. Cassidy Hartin is an amazing young woman who has overcome many obstacles and would benefit greatly from being able to participate in this competition.
Unfortunately, she needs to raise at least $300 soon. Thankfully, many people have stepped up to help. Relatives have committed to helping her with her final payment in August but she needs help over the next few weeks.
She is trying to raise the money for this exciting competition and came up with the idea of a bottle drive. We are all pitching in here at The Maine Children’s Home to help her by making a donation! If you can, please bring your returnables over the next week, any time, and drop them off near the Development building (Building #3). If you cannot drop off bottles, we welcome donations to the Development Office at 93 Silver Street, Waterville, ME 04901. Please make a notation that your donation is for the Miss Maine Teen Pageant expenses. Cassidy commented yesterday that, “It has been so great to know that so many people have my back and are supporting my dreams.” She is nervous about the upcoming competition but with this help she is feeling much more prepared.
We want to show her this community supports her dreams! Thank you very much in advance for your help and support! If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call 207-872-0261.
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Christmas in July Support
We are very thankful for the support of the Kennebec Valley Chapter of Credit Unions that has been helping to collect gifts for The Maine Children’s Home’s Christmas Program. This is a great boost toward the thousands of items needed for this year. Each child typically receives:
- Mittens, scarves, Thinsulate gloves, and a hat
- A reading book
- A coloring/activity book
- Crayons or markers
- A large and small toy
- A family board game
- A warm outfit
Cash donations are also welcome. If you do not have time to do the shopping, we can do it for you! After Christmas in July, the Development Office at The Maine Children’s Home accepts donations at any time! Here is a full list of needs.
Thank you to the participating credit unions!
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Changes in Development
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Steve Mayberry
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We have some very exciting changes underway in our Development office. We fully recognize that community support, donations, grants, special events and your gifts are vital to being able to carry out our mission and to serve more children and families each year. We want to be efficient, effective and working in ways that share The Maine Children’s Home story and engage our community.
The Maine Children’s Home board’s personnel committee has been exploring the functions of the development program for several months. After reviewing the current department activities, capacity and funding, there was a strong commitment to grow needed core development and marketing competencies. The resources in the development director position have been realigned to create two new positions: a development coordinator and a media-marketing associate. Look for more details about this work over the next few months.
We wish to extend our appreciation to Steve Mayberry for his many efforts to support and sustain The Maine Children’s Home’s programs.
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