Maine Women’s Giving Tree has announced it has donated $60,000 to 10 nonprofits in the Midcoast. “This is by far the largest amount we have awarded in our 10-year history of grant making,” said Jane Cabot of Harpswell, president of the nonprofit. “In a giving circle, members pool their dollars and together decide how to distribute those dollars, resulting in a greater impact in our communities than we could as individual donors.”

Recipients include:

  • ArtVan, a mobile art therapy program for neighborhoods with little or no access to after-school or summer programs, particularly during the COVID pandemic. Its $5,500 grant will help sustain programs for youngsters at Perryman Village and for asylum-seeking families.
  • The Bath Area BackPack Program will receive $4,000 to purchase weekend food for children ages 5-18 in Regional School Unit 1, the Midcoast Youth Center and Bath YMCA. The program generates funds to provide food for food insecure children during school-year weekends and vacations.
  • The Elder Abuse Institute of Maine will use its $7,000 grant to expand client support services at its soon-to-be opened Martha’s Cottage in Brunswick, which will provide a home for older women as they transition to long-term safe housing.
  • The Gathering Place, the only daytime shelter in the Brunswick area, will use its $4,000 grant to expand a Winter Readiness Program to include an overnight shelter.
  • Harpswell Aging at Home’s grant of $5,000 will support its Food Program, which was redesigned due to COVID, by providing meals delivered at home rather than in person.
  • The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust will use its $8,000 grant to purchase food from local farms and businesses to supplement gleaned produce, process and preserve food and provide funding to Good Food for Bath partner organizations for emergency needs.
  • The Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program, the largest food security agency in the region, will use its $8,000 grant for its School Pantry Program (formerly the Backpack Program), which serves students in Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell.
  • The Midcoast Youth Center is adding a music and art component to its Compass After-school Program. Its $7,500 grant will be used to hire instructors and purchase instruments, materials and supplies for the new music and art component.
  • Oasis Free Clinic will use its $6,000 grant to support telephonic interpretation services and purchases of headsets and print health education materials in various languages, as well as occasional assistance with costs for patients in need of transportation to the clinic.
  • Tedford Housing plans to use its $5,000 grant for continued support of its Breaking Down Barriers Fund, which provides clients with small amounts of money to help them attain independence.

Since 2012, Maine Women’s Giving Tree has awarded more than $350,000 in grants to 30 community organizations.

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