Hello ENCorps members! My name is Brandy LaChance, I am a first year graduate student at the University of Maine, enrolled in the Master of Social Work Program. I am excited to be here at The Center on Aging and look forward to taking over the ENCorps newsletter and getting to know the ENCorps volunteers!

 

“Communities can accomplish big things when they work together.” -Karen Campbell

This month, we will be highlighting the work of Lifelong Communities Fellow Karen Campbell.  Karen was born and raised in Massachusetts, in 2003 she moved to Cumberland Maine with her husband and 3 children. Karen has a long history of volunteering as a way to give back to the community. 

While living in Cumberland, Karen was a member of the school board and spent time volunteering at the local food pantry which led her to Aging in Place (AIP) Cumberland. In 2016 Karen volunteered on various committees for AIP Cumberland, she became a program coordinator and then in 2017 chaired for a year and a half. During her time working with AIP Cumberland, she assisted with many projects and helped to build partnerships with the local school, police department and fire department. A few of the projects that have been successful include a Friendly Visitor Program, Handy Helpers Program and a Transportation program. While chairing AIP Cumberland Karen attended a conference in Augusta and met Dyan Walsh and Patty Hamilton who were both chairing Bangor Livable communities (BLC) and was invited to attend a BLC meeting.

Karen moved to Bangor and became a member of BLC and has since become involved with the volunteerism, housing and senior/community subcommittees. Karen shared exciting news about a volunteer fair that she has been working on as part of the volunteerism subcommittee. The volunteer fair will be hosted by Beal College and will take place later this year. BLC has worked with various non-profit agencies to develop successful programs, this past winter they had great success with the Golden Shovel program, local businesses committed to keeping their steps and entryway free of snow, ice, and slush which allowed for safer access to their business.  Another recent accomplishment for BLC is the FitLot initiative.  As part of AARP’s 60th anniversary celebration National AARP decided to ‘give back’ and advance healthy living initiatives in all 50 states. Bangor’s Livable Community committee’s on-going work made Bangor an ideal fit and Bangor was ultimately chosen for this initiative.  

Most recently Karen was chosen to become the Lifelong Communities Fellow (LCF) for Bangor.  The LCF program was developed as a partnership between the University of Maine Center on Aging’s Encore Leadership Corps and Maine Community Foundation with significant and expertise from AARP and Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging. As a LC Fellow Karen will be focusing on the development of a senior/community center to replace the recent closing of the Hammond Street Senior Center. 

When Karen is not volunteering she enjoys biking, walking, running, reading and spending time with her 3 children and husband John who is the Northern Light Health Care Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Acadia.  Karen’s passion for volunteering has made a positive impact on her children who also volunteer for their local communities in various ways.

Thank you Karen for all your amazing volunteer work, with your help your community will accomplish big things!  

For more information:
Aging in Place Cumberland: https://aipcumberland.org/
Bangor Livable Communities: https://www.bangorpublichealth.org/community/livable-age-friendly-community/
FitLot: https://fitlot.org/#about


If you would like your work to be featured in this newsletter, please contact brandy.lachance@maine.edu.

Blood Services Donor Ambassador
524 Forest Ave, Portland, ME 04101
Volunteers will welcome and greet donors, escort as necessary and assist with initial intake and hand offs through the blood donation process. Ensure blood donors have relevant information and that questions are answered appropriately.Provide excellent and enthusiastic customer service to enhance the blood donor experience.  Engage with blood donors to promote blood donation and set the stage for a long-term commitment to regular blood donations.

For more information about the the volunteer position:http://volunteer.unitedwaygp.org/need/detail/?need_id=412824

Friendly Visitor
York County Community Action Corporation (YCCAC)
Where: 6 Spruce Street, Sanford,  ME 04073
Volunteer position title: Thriving in Place Friendly Visitor
What specific tasks will the volunteer(s) perform? Thriving in Place helps seniors and chronically disabled individuals remain in their homes for as long as possible. Volunteers serve as friendly visitors, assist with light housekeeping tasks, and, on occasion, run errands for the participant.
Qualities, experience & skills needed by the volunteers: We are looking for kind, compassionate volunteers who wish to make a difference in their community.
Requirements: Background check, must be at least 21, orientation or training
Volunteer days/times are flexible
Training and orientation will occur at YCCAC (Sanford site) prior to starting the volunteer opportunity.

For more information: https://www.volunteermatch.org/results/opp_detail.jsp?oppid=3105639

Educational Exhibit Attendant at Union Fair
Union, Maine
When: Aug 17, 2019 through Aug 24, 2019 
Time: 10am-1pm or 1pm-4pm
University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H seeks volunteers to teach children about the importance of farming at the 4-H Farm-to-Fair interactive exhibit at the Union Fair August 17-24, 2019.
Volunteers will receive orientation for the exhibit, which includes farming facts to share during a three-hour shift (10am-1pm or 1-4pm). Open to individual volunteers as well as groups from organizations and businesses.
For more information: http://volunteer.uwmcm.org/need/detail/?need_id=415063

Volunteer as Committee Member for the Children's Center Annual Auction!
Augusta, Maine
The Children’s Center has scheduled the 5th Annual Dinner & Auction for Saturday, September 28, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta. The evening will consist of a cocktail hour with delicious hors d’oeuvres and a live auction with Maine Humorist, Gary Crocker.

The committee meets for one hour once per month from June to August and once every two weeks in September. The committee is comprised of community members and staff of the Children's Center. The group focuses on solidifying sponsors for the event, acquiring donated auction items, planning activities for the event, and overall preparation for the big day. The committee usually helps set up at 3:00 p.m. and take down at 8:00 p.m. the day of the event. The committee is very flexible. Any and all help is much appreciated!

For more information: http://uwmm.galaxydigital.com/need/detail/?need_id=255350

Or contact Director of Development & Quality Improvement Katelyn Pushard at 207-626-3497 or info@childrensctr.org.

Do you know of a volunteer opportunity that you would like to circulate to your fellow ENCorps members? If so, e-mail the volunteer opportunity including a description of the volunteer job and a point of contact to info@encoreleaders.org and we will get it into the next newsletter.