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Sponsored by: My Place Teen Center
Updated: September 28, 2020 2020 Giving Guide

My Place Teen Center

2021 Goals

We have a singular goal: Raise $4.5MM so that we may open a second location in York County.

Why?

Photo / Courtesy My Place Teen Center

We are at the forefront of some of the most crucial issues of our time.

  • We fight to keep kids safe from the devastation of the opioid epidemic.
  • We combat poverty and food insecurity.
  • We create real, authentic communities with kids from diverse backgrounds, teaching them how to be good citizens and good neighbors.
  • We show teens from broken homes that there is a better way to live life – with accountability, personal responsibility, and self-care.
  • We’re not just raising kids, we’re raising the next generation of adults, and they’re headed your way! It matters whom they are now, and whom they become as adults.

The three most important things we do:

  • Provide food - daily meals and snacks
  • Provide a teen oasis
  • Instill GRIT via character development, academic support, mentoring, civic engagement, and life skills. The mettle of a kid’s heart and will is IT. #tinySTRONG
Photo / Courtesy My Place Teen Center

Giving Opportunities

General programming support allows us to allocate the funding the best way we see fit to: (1) address urgent and emerging issues such as a pandemic(!); (2) protect our organization with the presence of some reserves; (3) invest in technology and other infrastructure; (4) strengthen communications and fundraising efforts; and, (5) plan for expansion of programming and location.

Via unrestricted funds, we can pay a utility bill, maintain our 10,000-square-foot, 153-year-old building, pay the accountant, purchase fresh produce and proteins for dinners, take the kids on field trips, increase staffing, and be agile to our changing needs and dynamics. Your general support gives MPTC the ability to invest flexibly in our own sustainability, make the gaping hole, whole, and enhance our operational efficiency – in normal times AND in exceptional times.

Photo / Courtesy My Place Teen Center

Volunteer Opportunities

MPTC’s ability to recruit and retain a viable volunteer workforce of caring adults is key to sustaining our daily operations. Our retention rate is over 80%, and many of our volunteers have served for four years or more.

Community volunteers either come in weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Some of the volunteers plan or run programs from one of our five categories: Health and Wellness, Social/Emotional Competencies, Character/Civic Engagement, Workforce Readiness, and STEAM. Other volunteers come in to assist with homework or to just interact and play games.

Kitchen volunteers come in on a certain day every week and cook, serve and clean-up dinner. They also work with the teens to prep food and set up the dining room.

Photo / Courtesy My Place Teen Center

How We Adapted During COVID-19

Like so many, as of mid-March, normal operations at MPTC drastically changed. We knew we had to continue to support our teens and their families, so within 48 hours, we pivoted from our mission, to what we imagined would happen, and did happen, to meet the surging and urgent demand for food and home care — Plan B. From March 16 to the end of August, we procured, prepared, packed and delivered close to 22,000 free dinners plus 5,000 snack/hygiene products/pantry staples. Never in our wildest imaginations did we think we would undertake, or accomplish, such a brazen endeavor — especially since so many things in the outside world were so topsy-turvy. This fall, we will continue with our daily food pantry and our regular programming.

Leadership

Donna Dwyer, CEO
Rev. Tim Higgins, Board Chair: St. Ann’s Episcopal Church

Board officers

Lori Carter, Board Vice-Chair: Consultant, Insurance Compliance and Product Development

Cheryl Hinkson, Board Secretary: Director of Operations, Hannaford

Paul Pellerin, Board Treasurer: CPA, Simensky Engstrom and Associates


Board Members

Martha Gaythwaite: Partner, Verrill

Theresa Cloutier: SVP Marketing & Customer Experience , DMM

Amy Clearwater: VP for Narrative Development, Citibank

At A Glance

Established: 1998
Employees: 10
Annual Revenue: $768,000

Top funding sources

56% Foundations
19% Corporate
12% Individual Donations
8.5% United Way

Contact

Donna Dwyer
755 Main St.,
Westbrook, ME 04092
(207) 854-2800
donna@myplaceteencenter.org

www.myplaceteencenter.org
https://www.facebook.com/mptcwestbrook
https://www.twitter.com/MyPlaceTeenCtr

Mission Statement

Opened in 1998, My Place Teen Center is a nonprofit afterschool oasis for youth, ages 10-18, based in Westbrook with a second location to be opened in Biddeford, January 2022 – contingent on securing adequate funding. We are a year-round, free, positive youth development program specializing in cultivating grit and alleviating hunger and trauma.

Service locations

Greater Portland and York county