Sarah Bailey awarded the 2020 Maine State History Teacher of the Year Award

SOUTH PORTLAND

Sarah Bailey named 2020 Maine History Teacher of the Year
South Portland High School teacher Sarah Bailey has been named the 2020 Maine State History Teacher of the Year. The award is presented annually by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to K-12 American history education.
Inaugurated in 2004, the award recognizes exceptional American history teachers, honoring one kindergarten through grade 12 teacher from each state, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and U.S. Territories. Bailey is now among a select pool of educators being considered for the title of National History Teacher of the Year. That winner will be named this fall.
A social studies teacher and department chair at South Portland High School, Bailey earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary education social studies with a double minor in American history and business from Colby Sawyer College in 2003, and completed a one-year intensive to receive her Master’s of Science in secondary education social studies from the University of Connecticut in 2004. Dedication to learning has been a hallmark of Bailey’s classroom and she has earned certifications in digital learning and as a National Geographic certified educator. Bailey has received many awards during her teaching career, including being chosen as a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) presenter in 2019, 2020, and 2021. She also is a featured presenter for National Council for Geography. In 2017, Bailey was recognized by the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine for her outstanding teaching about the Holocaust.
In addition to a $1,000 honorarium, Bailey’s school will receive a core archive of American history books, Gilder Lehrman educational materials and recognition at a ceremony to be held in Maine at a later date.
Nominations for the 2021 History Teacher of the Year awards are now open. Students, parents, colleagues, and supervisors may nominate K-12 teachers for the award by visiting gilderlehrman.org/nhtoy. The deadline for 2021 nominations is March 31, 2021.

PORTLAND

Church to offer virtual retreat for young adults
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland will offer a free “Living in God’s Time” virtual retreat Sept. 11-13 for its “Young Adult Catholics in Maine” group.
The event will run from 7 p.m. Friday to noon Sunday. It is being co-sponsored by the Diocese of Portland and the Diocese of Manchester, N.H., and open to Catholic women and men ages 20 to 39.
The faith-based retreat will explore what it means to live on God’s time with topics that include identity, connection, letting go, and living out one’s faith in the season of young adulthood.
The schedule for the weekend will include a mix of real-time interactions via video conference and time for personal reflection. The retreat will conclude with a live-streamed Mass in southern Maine that, if conditions allow, registrants will have the option to attend in person.
For more information or to register, visit portlanddiocese.org/olff/ya-retreat.

Hannaford launches fruit distribution initiative 
Hannaford Supermarkets has embarked on a nine-town tour to distribute fresh fruit packs to children and families at more than 20 summer feeding sites across Maine. The month-long tour began in mid-July and expects to go through mid-August.
Hannaford associates, along with Portland food service staff, distributed fruit packs that included seven pieces of fresh fruit, like bananas and apples, to children and families at Lyman Moore’s summer feeding site.
Portland Public Schools food service director Jane McLucas said the Portland School System was excited to work with Hannaford and received the fresh snack packs for students.
“Feeding students breakfast and lunch, especially in the summer months when schools are closed, is vital to the health and well-being of our youth,” said McLucas.
Hannaford partnered with Full Plates Full Potential to identify summer feeding sites and areas of need. To date, Hannaford’s kid-oriented SnackPals truck has made stops in Kittery, York, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Auburn, Lewiston, and Augusta – and expects stops in Farmington and Strong along with a second round of return stops in the coming weeks.
Kim Kuusela, Hannaford’s local merchandising specialist, said, “We’ve received such a warm and heartfelt welcome at each of the sites we’ve visited. We are grateful for our partnership with summer feeding sites across Maine as well as Full Plates Full Potential’s expertise and guidance.”
Hannaford directly donated more than 24.4 million pounds of food to pantries, meal programs, and food banks in 2019, including more than 9.7 million pounds of food in Maine. And, since March 2020, Hannaford has donated $1.25 million to COVID-19 relief efforts including to local farmers and hunger relief and homeless outreach organizations.

CAPE ELIZABETH/SOUTH PORTLAND

Rotary club raises over $1000 for Durham Warriors
The South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club, with an emphasis on helping Maine’s veterans, has provided $1,016 so far this Rotary year to the Durham Warriors.
Durham Warriors is a nonprofit organization that covers costs for disabled veterans, active duty military, and their families to stay at Maine Forest Yurts in Durham. This charity was instituted by TV’s “Survivor” winner Bob Crowley. The Rotary Club funds will cover eight “scholarships” a night at the facility. To date, the Rotary has provided a two-night “getaway” at Maine Forest Yurts for both an Army and a Navy family.
The SP/CE Rotary Club’s donations to assist Maine veterans has exceeded $37,000 over the past seven years.
Many of Maine’s homeless veterans have difficulty getting to medical appointments, job interviews, and other obligations due to lack of transportation and money. And many, who may be moving to their own transitional or permanent housing may be in need of rental deposits, beds, essential household items and other moving expenses.
The Rotary Club of South Portland/Cape Elizabeth’s president Mike Geneseo says, “We feel privileged to be partnered with Maine’s VA in this effort to help Maine’s homeless veterans. This is a significant need, and these men and women who have served our country deserve all the help we can offer.”

DAMARISCOTTA

After temporary closure, used bookstore reopens
The Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop is now open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 17 Backstreet Landing.
Safety protocols are in place to help protect customers, donors, and volunteers. Anyone in the shop over the age of 2 will be required to wear a mask – no exceptions – and will be expected to maintain social distance of at least six feet. The shop can accommodate five customers at a time.
Donated books and other items will be accepted from 8 to 10 a.m., Monday through Saturday, at the back door only, with a limit of one box or bag per donor. These restrictions are designed to help protect the volunteers who sort and price donations, and reflect the fact that donations are being managed by a smaller crew than usual.
As always, donors are asked not to leave their donations outside. Even a few hours of exposure can damage books so that they cannot be sold.
The book shop is a major fundraiser for Skidompha Public Library. It offers thousands of books as well as puzzles, music CDs, and movies on tape and DVD. All items are donated, all staff members are volunteers, and all proceeds support the library’s collections and programs.
For more information, call 563-7807 or 563-5513, or go to skidomphbookshop.org.

SCARBOROUGH

Bank, animal shelter create ‘DOG-UST’ event
Coinciding with the first anniversary of the introduction of its popular Pet Loan, Town & Country FCU has joined forces with the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland (ARLGP) to highlight and support dogs being cared for at ARLGP with the first-ever DOG-UST event happening all month long.
During Dog-ust, ARLGP and the credit union will highlight a different dog up for adoption every Friday on its social media channels and also will make a significant financial contribution to ARLGP each week.
“We are very appreciative of our partnership with Town & Country and for their willingness to support and bring attention to the ongoing needs at ARLGP. With many of our traditional in-person fundraisers cancelled because of the pandemic and with ARLGP closed to visitors as a result, the assistance from Town & Country is timely and greatly appreciated,” said Jeana Roth, ARLGP director of community engagement.
The credit union also will provide details about its Pet Loan, the first in Maine, and the assistance it provides to help cover many expenses associated with caring for pets that, on average runs about $800-$1,500 annually.
In the past the pet loan have helped relieve the financial expenses from vet visits and surgeries.
For more details, visit ARLGP’s Facebook page at facebook.com/arlgp or Town & Country FCU’s Facebook page at facebook.com/TownandCountryFCU.