Weatherizing program partners with Bowdoin College

Habitat for Habitat 7 Rivers in Mid-Coast and its interior window insert volunteers have been working with Bowdoin College through an AmeriCorps grant the college received to address energy efficiency. In the past Bowdoin has focused its sustainability efforts to on campus activities; through this grant they are extending help to include lower-income households in the greater Brunswick area. The project is providing five custom-built interior window inserts for up to 20 area homes, some built by Habitat volunteers and some by Bowdoin students, faculty and staff on their Jan. 18 community service day.

News from nonprofits

Avesta Housing announces the addition of paid parental leave to its employee benefits package, effective Jan. 1. The parental leave allows for eight weeks of leave at 100 percent pay for birth mothers and four weeks of leave at 100 percent pay for all other parents. 

Portland Wheelers, which provides outdoor adapted biking fun for people with disabilities, welcomed three new board members in January. Jessica Atlee serves as resource development and stewardship manager for WinterKids. Greg Knight is a senior health care consultant for Baker Newman Noyes. Max Kodis-Beach is the community support coordinator at Choices Are For Everyone, Inc. in Westbrook.

Camp Ketcha hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 27 at 12 Spurwink Road in Scarborough to celebrate the commissioning of their newly installed solar array. Thomas Doherty, executive director of Camp Ketcha, said, “As a charitable nonprofit this solar project benefits our community in three ways. One, we save money that we can put right back into our programs getting kids outside and active. Two, we get to role model our strongly held values of good stewardship of our land and the environment overall and three, we get to help our nonprofit colleagues through supporting RE-volv’s rotating fund that helps future nonprofits to go solar.”

Reverend Joseph Lamarre Memorial Post 2197 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has awarded a certificate of appreciation for Veteran Support to Read Rich, the past director of the Mid-Coast Veterans Resource Center. Rich was instrumental in establishing the center in 2012, and has volunteered thousands of hours assisting veterans and their families. To date, more than nine hundred veterans or family members have been helped. Besides providing information and general assistance, the VA in Togus and from the Lewiston Vet Center meet with local veterans. There is an RAO officer on site to assist with surviving spouse issues. Acupuncture and reflexology sessions are also available on a regular basis. Center activities are overseen by a council made up of local service organizations, including Post 2197. 

Portland nonprofit organizations Maine Girls Academy, Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Ronald McDonald House were each awarded $500 grants from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grant program. The program was created to commemorate those Harvard Pilgrim members who lost their lives on 9/11, and allows each employee to award a $500 grant through the Foundation to the local charity of his or her choice each year.

Advertisement

CarMax opens first store in Maine

CarMax Inc., celebrated the grand opening of its first store in Maine, located at 415 Maine Mall Road in South Portland on Jan. 24, by awarding $7,500 in donations and grants to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine’s South Portland Clubhouse. Support for the organization came at the recommendation of the South Portland CarMax associates.

CarMax is also donating an Imagination Playground valued at more than $15,000 to the Bayside Learning Community, through its partnership with KaBOOM! to make play more accessible to children and families.

“Our team enjoyed volunteering at the South Portland Clubhouse recently and we see these opportunities as the first of many to give back to the local community,” said Michelle Hillebrandt, location general manager of the South Portland CarMax.

Recognition 

Bath-based Burgess Technology Services attained the Microsoft Silver Cloud Solution Provider competency this fall. The competency, as described by the Microsoft Corporation, indicates that a company “demonstrates consistent capability, expertise, and commitment” in selling and deploying Office 365 solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. 

Hires, promotions, appointments

The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs announced that Sue Hanson is the program manager for the new Food Accelerator Program. The program focuses on food, beverage and agriculture manufacturers looking to scale-up their companies. It is part of FocusMaine’s initiative to create quality Maine jobs and increase economic diversification in Maine.

ORPC, Inc., which focuses on sustainable energy solutions, has expanded its executive team. Cian Marnagh and Nathan Johnson were promoted and named to ORPC’s management team. Abbey Manders was recently promoted to vice president and CFO and Jarlath McEntee was promoted to senior vice president and chief technology officer.

Otelco has hired Scott Littlefield as a network engineering manager who will be working in Portland. Otelco Inc. provides wireline telecommunications services in Maine and several other states.

HansonLittlefieldAtlee

Habitat for Humanity 7 Rivers Maine and its window insert volunteers have been working with Bowdoin College to address energy efficiency for local residents. From left are Ben Rodriguez, Vanessa Berry, Amy Palmer, and Dan Palmer of the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area, Mark Primeau, Habitat’s executive director, and Bridger Tomlin, Bowdoin College’s AmeriCorps energy efficiency coordinator.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.