Current Host Sites

Beehive Design Collective, Machias
Emily Simons
This is a multilayer organization seeking to organize and educate around environmental and social issues at both the international and local levels. They are working to establish a center from their newly refurbished grange hall that can operate as a gathering place for youth, families, elders and other community members for a variety of events, programs and activities. This Member will organize events and programs at the center, assess needs and interests of those in Machias, partner with other organizations, and assist with continuation of building restoration needs.

Rippling Waters Farm, Steep Falls
Christy McKinnon, Alison Cole
An organic farm which serves as an educational and community resource to help create a sustainable, local food system, helps connect individuals, and provides life skills, employment opportunities and personal growth experiences for at risk youth through its apprenticeship program. Serving as a platform for educational and food security work, Their work will help to expand these efforts through the Saco Valley Food Connection Project (SVFC). They will improve their volunteer management system and develop marketing tools, develop off-farm garden sites to expand the Community’s Agricultural Capacity, and design and implement a summer apprenticeship program.

Portland Housing Authority, Portland
Alex Nadel, Tim Diomede, Moriah-Jean Delisle
PHA provides affordable housing opportunities by collaborating with those they serve and appropriate agencies to enhance the quality of life in the community. The role of the AmeriCorps members is to maintain and enhance resident’s lives by developing an increased, improved, and sustainable volunteer network to ensure that community and families receive supportive community services. Members assist with resident contact, recruitment, coordination, and administration to assist residents in completing required community service hours. They will supervise after school homework help centers at housing communities. They will assist in implementing resident food banks in senior housing and coordinate transportation needs.

Medomak Valley Land Trust, Waldoboro
Katie Renwick
The MVLT was founded to conserve the natural, recreational, scenic, and traditional land-use values of the Medomak River watershed through land protection, good stewardship, and education. They seek to foster a regional perspective of the watershed and to encourage valley residents to work together to ensure that the resources we all value will remain for future generations. Katie will assist with creating outreach materials and coordinating community events, strengthen the volunteer recruitment and tracing system, and serve as Medomak River Alewife Enhancement Project Coordinator, responsible for developing a volunteer and funding base enabling the project to be self-sustaining. She will also work with the Lands and Stewardship Committee to assist in various projects.

Morris Farm Trust, Wiscasset

The Morris Farm promotes the values of sustainable agriculture and stewardship of the earth through education, demonstration and community involvement. This member is a key player in the educational aspects of the farm. They work with the after-school program, teach field trips, assist with camps, and help to train volunteers. They also have the opportunity to learn about the workings of a small scale, diversified, organic farm.

Mainely Girls, Rockport
Christina Venditti
Mainely Girls is a statewide organization working with rural communities to assist them in focusing on girls’ needs in a preventative and proactive manner, and to work on the state level to bring about positive change for girls. Christina is working with middle and high school girls in a large variety of groups including mentoring programs, book clubs, after school activities, and an annual conference and film festival. With their book club expansion and additional activities, she will be recruiting additional volunteers to work with the groups. She will also assist with program evaluation.

Maine Rural Partners, Orono
Raylene Tolman
Maine Rural Partners seeks to strengthen the capacity of rural communities to secure a sustainable high quality of life by connecting community builders, increasing citizen engagement, and leveraging resources. Raylene and Jill are working with the Harness the Wealth!, asset based capacity development program. Working in 2 pilot communities, Strong and Machias, these members are working with local planning groups to create a volunteer management plan and implement the plan to aid in literacy and career preparation for young adults.

Maine Historical Society, Portland
Marieke Van Der Steenhoven
MHS devotes its resources to the discovery, identification, collection, preservation, and interpretation of materials which document the history of Maine and its people. The Education Department is where the AmeriCorps member will devote their time. This Member will play a key role in both on- and off-site education programs that engage youth, primarily between Grades 3-12. She will lead students in Gallery programs, tours and help students develop local history projects. Working with youth volunteers, she will help to add history to Maine Memory, an online database that many small historical societies are unable to participate in without volunteer assistance.

Lots to Gardens, Lewiston
Denise Dill, Bobby Livingston
Lots to Gardens challenges the cycles of hunger in our community by enabling people to produce, access and prepare fresh, nutritious food for themselves and their community. The Youth Coordinator will implement their two employment and empowerment programs: Summer Youth Gardeners and Youth Interns. “Off time” will be spent developing programs, evaluations, trainings, and curriculum. The Food & Nutrition Coordinator will develop nutrition education curriculum that is appropriate for individuals with limited financial resource and literary skills and sensitive to cultural preferences.

The Island Institute
Thea Youngs, Chebeague
Scott Sell, Frenchboro
Katie Chapman, Swans
Brooke Brewer, Peaks
Anne Bardaglio, Matinicus
Peter Levandoski, Vinalhaven
Morgan Witham, Isle au Haut
Alden Robinson, Long Island
Amanda Ravenhill,
Laura Kramer,
The Island Institute places fellows in island and coastal communities to meet their most pressing needs and to help shape projects, goals and objectives to meet those needs. Island Fellows are then placed to serve directly with communities, recruiting and training volunteers, providing needed expertise and helping volunteers work towards solutions. These members will be working with a variety of community planning efforts including: Projects around historical preservation and libraries on Swans, using technology to enhance the Stonington economic development goals, Projects with the Frenchboro Elementary School, completing a comprehensive plan for Cranberry Isles, Chebeague Museum of History projects, and working with community development on Peaks Island.

Cultivating Community, Portland
Sarah Marshall, Alida Payson
They use ecologically sustainable practices to grow thousands of pounds of produce which is then made available to low income families and elders in and around Portland. This community food work is used as the platform for high-impact education and youth empowerment programs. The Program Educator will help strengthen and expand the school garden program by fostering and maintaining links with project collaborators, publicizing opps, and training volunteers. The Grower’s Assistant will help them meet their target of producing 10,000 pounds of produce in 2007. This person will also assist with programming efforts.

Eastern Maine Aids Network, Bangor
Suze Howe
EMAN provides a compassionate community for individuals living with and affected by HIV and AIDS by providing extensive community and outreach education and HIV antibody testing to the general public. Suze works to get new volunteers involved in many facets of the organization. She provides counseling and anti-body testing to individuals. She leads the youth programs and is working to create new groups to support and educate youth. She is also involved in community education and training.

The Compass Project, Portland
Margaret Mountcastle
The Compass Project uses boat building and rowing to provide positive direction to youth by encouraging the development of personal and community responsibility. This member will work to develop a mentoring program for students and initiate a new in-school program geared to job training skills and offer apprenticeships for high school students. She will develop a tracking system for volunteer labor and assist with retention of volunteers. Another large project will be to work with existing waterfront programs to create a community rowing center in Portland.

Center Theatre for the Performing Arts, Dover-Foxcroft
Pam Tower
The mission of the theatre is to restore, operate, and maintain the historic Center Theatre building as a performing arts center that will provide cultural education, entertainment, and enrichment for those living and visiting the community. Pam will be directly coordinating and supporting volunteers working with building projects, events, office work, publicity, web design, community theater work, among many other projects. She will also organize and facilitate quarterly cultural heritage meetings, work in the schools to encourage cultural literacy, and organize volunteer appreciation efforts.

Center for Community GIS, Farmington
Katri Mallory
The Center for Community GIS is dedicated to the participatory application, local use, and instruction of Geographic Information Systems and related digital mapping techniques. Katri will be actively involved in teaching geospatial technology and community involvement skills to Extension volunteers. She will provide consultation and technical assistance to Extension staff, 4-H volunteers, and interested community members through user group workshops, a study circle, and personal assistance.

Habitat for Humanity, Portland
Kate Callahan, Jennifer Defillip
HFH is an inter-faith, Christian home-building ministry dedicated to eliminating substandard housing throughout the world. HFH of Greater Portland is going into the fifth year of their youth programs initiative, encouraging youth to take an active role shaping the future of their community through construction of affordable housing for local families. This member will lead education programs and volunteer service learning projects in various schools, church groups, and civic organizations. She will coordinate the Collegiate Challenge program and Summer Work Camps. She will also work with Youth United to run the Sea Dogs Parking lot fund raiser and work with other annual events. The second member will be working as a site supervisor during builds. Her work will allow for Habitat to build more this year and provide for more opprotunities for volunteers to participate.

Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District, Windham
Coutney O'Neil, Chris Dunn
The District is a clearinghouse of conservation information, services and products for citizens of Cumberland County facing the challenges of soil and water pollution, land development, wildlife habitat and flood mitigation. These members are working primarily with the Interlocal GIS internship Program. They are responsible for recruitment and selection of these individuals and then for overseeing the program. They will provide training, support, and publicity for the program. They will also put together a manual for future program implementation and sustainability.

Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Oquossoc

The mission of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust is the permanent protection of significant natural and historical resources of the Rangeley Lakes region for the benefit and enjoyment of the public and future generations. The member would assist the program directors in recruiting and managing volunteers for our environmental education/outdoor recreation program, our regional water quality/invasive plant prevention program, and our trail maintenance efforts.

Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed, Augusta
Michele Presby
The watershed seeks to protect and improve the 28 lakes and streams of the Cobbossee Watershed. This is done by promoting public awareness of water quality issues, enlisting community involvement, educating groups on strategies to protect water quality and conducting programs in the community.This AmeriCorps Member will be recruiting volunteers to help screen boats to prevent milfoil from being transported around lakes and ponds.

Big Brothers Big Sisters, Augusta
Rebekah Scaduto
For nearly 325 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kennebec Valley has been committed to making a positive difference in the lives of children by providing professionally supported, one to one, mentoring relationships with responsible and caring volunteers who will support, guide and encourage these children to become confident, caring members of their family, school and community. This AmeriCorps Member will be working primarily with recruitment and retention of volunteers in their site-based program, which utilizes mostly high school students as mentors that are matched with elementary students. They will also work to create a leadership council which utilizes high school students as ambassadors within their schools creating recruitment and outreach plans. In addition to utilizing high school students for this mentoring program, college students are highly utilized as mentors for youth over the course of the year.

Trekkers, Tenants Harbor
Emily Worm
Trekkers is an outdoor-based mentoring program located in mid-coast Maine aimed at connecting caring adults with young people through the use of authentic experience, travel, community service and outdoor/adventure-based education. Trekkers provides a myriad of educational, experiential, and cross-cultural opportunities for young people, with an emphasis on relationship building and an appreciation of the earth as “educator”. This AmeriCorps Member would help to expand their current reservoir of volunteers, in turn greatly increasing Trekkers’ ability to serve the youth in the community. The Member would help to recruit, train, and organize new volunteers and members for four program areas: one-to-one mentoring, waiting list programming, alumni connections, and Big Trek/Little Trek peer mentoring. Trekkers employs a “community web” approach to mentoring, relying on a network of community members to support the program. They propose to increase one-to-one mentors from 15% of their students served in a year to 25% of the students served to have a one on one relationship with a caring adult. Trekkers stays in contact with their youth participants after they have finished the program. This year marks the graduation of their first class of students from college. Trekkers hopes to continue to stay in contact with these individuals and develop yearly alumni events, encouraging graduates to remain involved in mentoring programs such as Trekkers. The Big Trek/Little Trek program pairs high school students with 3rd and 4th grade students from their community to provide encouragement and friendship, while Big Treks get a chance to develop leadership skills and give back to their community. And to reach out to more participants who are put on a waiting list each year, Trekkers will be expanding their programming to include one-day workshops and weekend expeditions for those who are not able to participate in the larger program and remain on a waiting list.

The EdGE,Maine Seacoast Mission,Cherryfield
Isaac Marnik
The EdGE vision is to build assets in children so they are better able to develop the self-esteem and leadership, social, and academic skills required to succeed in their lives. This vision included building a healthy and caring community to support all children. The program components include an in-school, after-school, vacation, and summer program for 4th-8th graders, volunteer and employment opportunities for 9th-12th graders. The AmeriCorps Member will work as a site coordinator in the afterschool program in Cherryfield. They will concentrate mostly on volunteer management and recruitment. Their work will lead to the development of a volunteer recruitment and management model for all EdGE sites. Being in a rural area of Maine, volunteer recruitment efforts have been fairly difficult in the past. Therefore this member will need to work to develop new and innovative ideas to engage community members of all ages to assist in the afterschool programs.

Portland Stage Company, Portland
Erica Vonk
Portland Stage Company’s mission is to entertain, educate, and engage its audiences by producing a wide range of artistic works and programs that explore basic human issues and concerns relevant to the communities served by the theater. Our guiding principle is to promote creativity and dialogue among artists, staff, board and audience. The AmeriCorps Member will take on all aspects of coordinating volunteers including recruitment, scheduling/tracking, retention, staff interface, development of job descriptions and evaluation. The member will be working with the following volunteer groups: Ushers, guest artist hospitality, development support, interns, and Board of Trustees and Advisory Board.

Preble Street, Portland
Katelyn Macrae
Preble Street is the only non-profit organization in Maine providing immediate, free, and low-barrier basic needs, healthcare, education, employment, and social work services to homeless and low-income youth, adults, and families. This Member will work with volunteers in the Soup Kitchen, Food Pantry, Teen Center, and Clothing Closets, about 150 volunteers per week. These programs are entirely volunteer run. The member will also be involved in outreach efforts in the community in order to strengthen their programs.

Parks and Recreation, Fort Kent
Marie Schnetzka
The Fort Kent Recreation and Parks Department strives to enhance the quality of life of Fort Kent by offering a variety of activities that encourage overall wellness, cultural opportunities, natural resource appreciation and fellowship with neighbors. The Member’s primary responsibility will be to develop, implement and coordinate an after school program. They will network and make collaborations and start up a program in January for local students.

Womancare, Dover-Foxcroft
Pam Tower
Womancare’s mission is to provide support and advocacy to persons who are affected by domestic abuse and to work toward the elimination of domestic abuse through education. They serve women, children and men struggling with issues of abuse. Some of the Member’s activities would include community outreach and education and volunteer training, supervision, and support. They seek to increase their volunteer pool and need assistance with finding new ways to attract and train volunteers, including partnering with area businesses to promote volunteerism.

PICA, Bangor
Jessie Newcomb
Peace through Interamerican Community Action (PICA) is a small, membership-run organization based in Bangor, Maine. For more than 20 years we have used our local base and our close ties to communities and the popular movement in El Salvador to build strong, reciprocal connections with other groups, tying together the local, regional and global. We work for a global economic and political system that respects human rights, and that nurtures and sustains individuals and their communities. Much of our work is grounded in a deep, 16-year old sistering relationship with the remarkable community of Carasque, El Salvador, and through Carasque, with the Salvadoran popular movement. The Americorps Member will work on supporting the volunteers carrying out the kNOw US AND THEM program, and in strengthening PICA’s overall program of volunteer recruitment, support and retention. kNOw US AND THEM is directed by a volunteers steering committee, and is organized in workgroups devoted to outreach/education, logistics, interview questions and process, and media.

Community Bicycle Center, Biddeford
Chris Yankopoulos
The Community Bicycle Center facilitates youth development programs that equip youth living in Biddeford, Maine and surrounding communities with life skills, healthy physical activity, mentoring relationships, and asset-building experiences. We use hands-on bicycle repair, group cycling, and community service activities to develop thriving attitudes, behaviors, and skills. Our mission is to empower people through bicycles and bicycling experiences with a focus on youth development. The AmeriCorps member will be contribute to the capacity building of the CBC in two areas: volunteer management and program development. Volunteer Mamangement tasks include recruiting specialized event volunteers, developing an orienation/training program, and creating a structure for volunteer recognition. The member will partner with the executive director to facilitate all direct service programs: drop-in bicycle repair and maintenance sessions, drop-in bicycling adventures, youth/adult Charity Cycling Team, and the Bike Monkeys bike repair training program.

Rippleffect, Portland
Anna Cynar
Rippleffect mission is to promote positive human development through learning adventure in a living classroom. We believe that hands-on education in an outdoor classroom is an integral component to the holistic development of healthy citizens and healthy communities. Rippleffect strives to provide affordable and accessible aspiration based programming in the mountains and coastal water of Maine for youth, communities and corporations. The AmeriCorps member activities will include but is not limited to: On Island volunteer coordination, Volunteer recruitment and registration, Program support and logistic, Provide assistant to program director, Provide assistant to office manager, and Volunteer data base entry.