Agents & Staff Celebrate Legacy’s Legacy: Giving Back to Maine
Each year, participating agents contribute a portion of their commission to the “Legacy’s Legacy: Giving Back to Maine” charitable program. “We are so proud that our agent-led charitable initiative, ‘Legacy’s Legacy: Giving Back to Maine,’ has expanded its reach to more incredible organizations throughout Maine,” says Chris Lynch, President. “During the course of a year, we touch so many cities and towns with our special way of doing business and are delighted for the opportunity to give back.”
We love giving back to the communities we serve. Many of our agents and staff even had the pleasure of hand-delivering checks to these wonderful organizations. Here are some of the highlights!
Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center
Biddeford
Kennbunk-based agent Andi Robinson delivered a donation check to the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, which provides a comfortable space with trained volunteers who respond to the needs of those using the Center with hospitality and a caring ear.
Learn more about Seeds of Hope from its website:
“Christ Episcopal Church in Biddeford was established in 1869 to meet the spiritual needs of the workers that migrated from England to work in the mills. From that time forward, Christ Church was a working-class faith community committed to feeding all aspects of the lives of Biddeford residents.
In 2008 Christ Church committed to furthering its mission in a collaborative outreach initiative with other churches and community organizations. The collaborative opened a drop-in center in September 2008, naming it the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center. With our combined resources and experience, we formed a fierce vision of justice and compassion.
In 2011 the church realized that it could no longer sustain itself as a parish, but believed so much in the important work being done for our neighbors. Worship ended in December 2012, and in 2013 the ministry transformed into a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, non-sectarian and open to all people regardless of faith, although still providing spiritual support when requested.
Seeds of Hope has become an integral part of the local communities, serving individuals and families from many of our surrounding towns. We have broad local support and are increasingly called upon to provide assistance to our struggling neighbors.”
York County Shelter Programs
Alfred & Sanford
Kennebunk-based agent Bill Gaynor delivered a donation check to York County Shelter Programs, which offers shelter, job skills training, a food pantry, and emergency resources.
Learn more about York County Shelter Programs from its website:
“York County Shelter Programs was created in 1979 to help people who had nowhere to turn. We started out as a homeless shelter (read more about us in our history) and over time became an agency that helps people address issues that may have led to homelessness – crippling challenges such as mental health issues and substance abuse. (Layman Way Recovery Center, which is part of our agency, is a residential treatment center for people with substance abuse issues.) We also help people who have experienced financial distress and find themselves unable to afford housing.
We have an emergency shelter for adults on Shaker Hill Road in Alfred, and we have a family shelter in Sanford. We assign a Navigator to every resident. The Navigator helps residents access the resources they need, including therapeutic help. We also connect people to community resources such as York County Community Action Program, which offers access to medical and dental help, as well as other types of assistance including child care, housing and financial issues.
YCSP also offers job skills training. Ultimately, we seek to enable residents to find permanent housing. YCSP owns and manages over 120 housing units in southern Maine. Our agency also operates the largest food pantry in York County, at 5 Swetts Bridge Road in Alfred.”
Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland
Westbrook
Portland-based agent Emilie Cole delivered a donation check to the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, a nonprofit animal shelter serving more than 4,000 homeless and misplaced animals each year. Emilie posed with adoptable Archie for the photo.
Learn more about the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland from its website:
“The ARLGP provides temporary care and shelter for stray, abandoned, confiscated and relinquished animals, and places as many pets as possible into responsible and caring homes; we create awareness and support for the humane treatment of all animals; we strive to end animal overpopulation through education and the promotion of spaying and neutering; we make end-of-life decisions based on safety and animal welfare considerations.
We are a high-adoption, open-admission facility. There is no time limit on an animal’s stay in our care. We do everything we can to ensure each animal has the opportunity for a new beginning, and provide them with the care, treatment, and time they require, before they find their new family.
We embrace animals who may have health challenges and with a little extra care can be rehomed. Our guiding principle is always quality of life for the animal, even if it is obtained with support from medical treatment or diet. We are very committed to hospice and foster homes, so that each animal receives the love, compassion, and dignity it deserves.”
Tedford Housing
Brunswick
Brunswick-based agent Kristie Jorgensen delivered a donation check to Tedford Housing, an emergency homeless shelter, providing supportive housing for previously homeless families and individuals as well as homeless prevention services.
Learn more about Tedford Housing from its website:
“Tedford Housing, formerly Tedford Shelter, was founded by the Brunswick Area Interfaith Council (BAIC) to provide emergency shelter for the area’s homeless adults in 1987. The organization was named for the individual who donated the building that housed the original shelter at 10 Pleasant Street in Brunswick, Maine.
Over the years, Tedford and its many community partners have risen to the challenges that face our homeless neighbors, opening a family shelter on Federal Street in 1998 and offering homeless prevention services to those individuals and families at-risk of becoming homeless in the early 2000s. We began to serve homeless students in the three school districts serving Brunswick, Bath, Topsham and surrounding communities through the Merrymeeting Project in 2008 until 2019 and added 37 units of supportive housing for previously homeless individuals and families between 2005 and 2012.
At the core of all of Tedford Housing’s programs and services is case management, ensuring every client we serve has access to all of the health, human and community services needed to address the challenges that created their housing emergency. Today, Tedford Housing finds itself serving more people in the community on an outreach basis than it does in its facilities. We have become a resource center for our homeless and at-risk neighbors, much more than a shelter with emergency beds.”
Midocast Humane Society
Brunswick
Damariscotta-based agents Miles Geisler and Susan Peterson delivered a donation check to Midcoast Humane Society in Brunswick, one of the biggest animal shelters in the state.
Learn more about Midcoast Humane from its website:
“We provide care and second chances to nearly 3,500 animals every year, and assist hundreds more through our programming.
But we’re not just about the animals – Midcoast Humane is about the people, too. We dropped “Society” from our title, because we’re not a membership organization, and we are not exclusive. Animal companions are for everyone, and all can make a difference in the lives of animals.
We hold municipal contracts with 39 towns along Maine’s Midcoast, but our adopters come from across the state and New England.
Our administrative office is currently housed in Brunswick, Maine, in the “old Dexter Shoe” building. We also run a second-hand store in beautiful Boothbay Harbor, Creature Comforts Thrift Store, which helps support our life-saving work.
Every animal that comes through our door receives excellent medical care, spay/neuter surgeries, vaccines, care, and comfort while they’re with us. We believe that every life is worth saving, and are proud of our 97% Live Release Rate.”
Midcoast Maine Community Action
Bath
Brunswick-based agent Kaleb Swan delivered a donation check to Midcoast Maine Community Action in Bath, a social services agency that connects the community with resources that promote health and quality of life, education, and economic independence.
Learn more about Midcoast Maine Community Action from its website:
“MMCA supports regional activities which encourage economic sustainability and social equity within the midcoast area.
MMCA’s Community Needs Assessment describe the fundamental economic challenges facing Mainers, including those affecting people in our home communities in Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc, and Lincoln counties. The Community Needs Assessments establish profiles of communities, noting both needs as well as the resources available to help.
MMCA’s Strategic Plan provides detailed information about our organizational goals and objectives to meet the community’s needs.”
Central Lincoln County YMCA
Damariscotta
Damariscotta-based agents Randy Miller and Charlie Richardson presented a donation to the Central Lincoln County YMCA Executive Director Casey Clark Kelly. The Central Lincoln County YMCA enriches lives, strengthens the community, and drives social change through community resources including child care, summer camps, lessons and clinics, a gymnasium for basketball, pickleball, volleyball, and ping pong, an elevated track, exercise studios, a teaching kitchen and garden beds. Learn more on the CLC YMCA website.
Boothbay Region Land Trust
Boothbay
Damariscotta-based agent Joanne Moore delivered a check to the Boothbay Region Land Trust, a nationally accredited, nonprofit land conservation organization with the mission to conserve for the public benefit the natural habitat, scenic beauty, and working land of the Boothbay region.
Learn more about the Boothbay Region Land Trust from its website:
“Our membership-supported organization provides free public access to nature preserves across the peninsula with over 30 miles of hiking trails. BRLT also hosts over 100 free educational events annually to connect people of all ages to the land.
Guests are welcome at our visitor center at Oak Point Farm where you can enjoy the trails and scenery, as well as learn more about our organization, obtain maps, purchase BRLT merchandise, or sign up for free educational programs. We invite you to explore the natural beauty of our region at our many public preserves, accessible by land and sea.
BRLT trails are open to the public, year-round, free of charge. Properties include woodlands, wetlands, salt marshes, islands, seabird and wading bird habitat, feeding areas for migratory birds and butterflies, historical and archaeological sites, and working waterfront.”
Waldo Theatre
Waldoboro
Damariscotta-based agent Crissy Stirratt presented a donation check to the Waldo Theatre, a historic and beautifully restored performing arts venue in Waldoboro. After being closed for many years, it reopened and was fully restored in 2021.
Learn more about the Waldo Theatre from its website:
“Located in the beautiful small coastal town of Waldoboro, we bring live music, theater, movies, dance, and educational programs to our community year-round. Our offerings range from local, community theater performances to nationally and internationally known artist performances…
The theatre was shuttered in 2014, and in 2017 it was placed on Maine’s List of Most Endangered Historic Places. Recognizing the value of this iconic building and what an asset it is for the region, late in 2016, area residents came together to create a new board and chart a new way forward. We strengthened the organization’s capacity, stabilized and fully restored the building, and developed a strategic go-forward plan.
The beautiful, fully restored theater reopened with its first live performance in June 2021. In 2022, The Waldo offered its first full schedule of events, including live music, movies, theater, student education programs, and a summer drama camp. Our program for 2023 is full of outstanding offerings and we are very proud of our continued progress with expanded programming as well as important building-related improvements.”
Georges River Land Trust
Rockland
Dana Whittaker, Director of Brokerage Services, and agent Lois Lengyel delivered a donation check to the Georges River Land Trust in Rockland, an organization dedicated to conserving the ecosystems and traditional heritage of the Georges River watershed region through permanent land protection, stewardship, education, and outdoor experiences.
Learn more about the Georges River Land Trust from its website:
“A significant part of our mission is protecting the natural resources that make the midcoast region of Maine so wonderful and unique. We have conserved more than 4,200 acres. Our preserves are open dawn to dusk everyday for your enjoyment.
To protect land, we utilize a blend of conservation easements and fee ownership to conserve important lands forever. Currently, we steward 71 properties – we hold 51 conservation easements and we own and manage 20 properties, known as preserves. Click on a preserve below to learn more about why we chose it for conservation and for information on how to visit it.”
Mount Desert Nursery School & Childcare Center
Northeast Harbor
Mount Desert-based agent Jan Moore delivered a donation check to the Mount Desert Nursery School and Childcare Center in Northeast Harbor, an early education and childcare program for children aged 30 months to school age, whose families live or work in the town of Mount Desert and its surrounding communities. Jan Moore was on the first Board of Directors 46 years ago when the school was built.
Learn more about the Mount Desert Nursery School from its website:
“At Mount Desert Nursery School and Childcare Center (MDNS) we focus on the individual, allowing children to learn at their optimal pace. Our thoughtfully designed activities and play areas encourage children to explore and discover the world around them. Using this natural process, children develop self-help skills and a foundation for enjoyable learning throughout life.
Our program encourages and assists children to increase independence, develop self-confidence, relate respectfully to people, and promotes a growing awareness of their environment. The school’s daily schedule includes a balance of play, rest, indoor and outdoor time all led by teachers and chosen by the children.”
