A total of 21 nonprofit organizations that serve disadvantaged, underserved and vulnerable communities in Maine will share $141,500 in grants from the Frances Hollis Brain Foundation Fund at the Maine Community Foundation.
The Brain Foundation’s grants focus on education, particularly early childhood care and extended day learning; health care, including oral health initiatives; homelessness alleviation and legal services connected with those issues. Priority geographic areas are greater Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Bath/Brunswick, Biddeford/Saco/Sanford, as well as nonprofits that have a statewide mission.
Priority is given to organizations that support without resources to provide for themselves, and the organizations must have a broad base of community support and demonstrated effectiveness. The application deadline for 2020 grants is April 19.
Awards for 2019 went to:
- Biddeford Public School Education Foundation, to provide advanced professional development around adverse childhood experiences and building resilience to designated trauma coaches and trauma teams serving children ages 48: $7,000;
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, to offer Brain Gain: Read!, a literacy program designed to prevent summer reading skill loss, during summer 2019: $5,000;
- Community Bicycle Center, of Biddeford, to provide area kids with a framework for personal growth, using bicycling and other activities to form a connection, toward skill development and aspirational growth: $5,000;
- Community Dental, to support a program that provides oral health care services for low-income people living in the Lewiston area: $10,000;
- Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation, based in Augusta, to provide targeted outreach and education to vulnerable Maine families so they can understand and enroll in health coverage: $10,000;
- Count ME In, to reduce chronic and at-risk absenteeism in Sanford linked to academic proficiency and poverty: $5,000;
- Ecology Education Inc., based in Saco, to continue EcosySTEM programs in four underserved school systems, providing a strong foundation in critical-thinking skills, scientific analysis, and community in grades K-2: $5,000;
- Good Shepherd Food Bank, of Auburn, to provide access to nutritious food via Youth and Family Initiatives programs for disadvantaged children suffering from hunger in Greater Portland: $5,000;
- Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, based in Portland, to provide immigration legal services to low-income Mainers in the face of growing threats to their civil rights, including direct legal services, educational outreach and advocacy: $10,000;
- Kids First Center, based in Scarborough, for children at the crossroads of stable childhood development and a lifetime afflicted by adverse mental and physical health challenges: $5,000;
- LearningWorks, to benefit after-school program, which provides STEM-based extended learning opportunities for 1,000 second through fifth-graders in Portland, South Portland, Biddeford and Waterboro: $10,000;
- Locker Project, to distribute fresh food and healthy staples in low-income neighborhoods during July and August: $5,000;
- MaineHealth, to improve access to healthcare and health outcomes for patients experiencing homelessness in greater Portland: $10,000;
- Oasis Health Network Inc., based in Brunswick, to add a paid dental hygienist for 12 hours a month to increase the capacity of dental clinic to offer preventative care: $5,000;
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance Inc., based in Augusta, to address the most pressing needs of vulnerable youth in Maine to ensure their safety, wellbeing, and access to a meaningful education: $10,000;
- ProsperityME, based in Portland, to support immigrant tenants through financial education, mentoring and security deposit notes: $5,000;
- Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, of Biddeford, to provide a nutritious meal twice daily, five days a week and two evenings a month to those living in poverty and using the center’s services: $5,000;
- Southern Maine Agency on Aging, based in Scarborough, to provide home-delivered meals and vital socialization to homebound seniors through the Meals on Wheels program: $5,000;
- St. Elizabeth’s Jubilee Center, of Scarborough, to buy oral hygiene products in order to support this basic health need of people living in poverty in the greater Portland area: $4,500;
- Opportunity Alliance, based in South Portland, to support continued child care for families in transition: $10,000; and
- Wayside Food Programs, based in Portland, to continue efforts to source and redistribute healthy foods to social service agencies, food pantries and food programs for free within the sustainable model: $5,000.
