Mary Coombs Mixer, 96, is one of Stonington’s independent older people who gather twice a month for Salt Air Seniors. Photo Thalassa Raasch
The Maine Charity Foundation Fund stays true to 1921 roots as it grows at MaineCF
As 1921 drew to a close and the U.S. recovered from its post-war recession, a Portland trust company created a foundation that looked to the future.
Fidelity Trust Company, taking its cue from the Permanent Charity Fund of Boston, established the Maine Charity Foundation, “devoted to charitable and educational purposes within the State of Maine.” Each year a nonpartisan committee selected by trustees and judges distributed the fund’s income to those who most deserved assistance. “By this means the Foundation will keep pace with changing charitable needs,” a trust pamphlet explained.
Nearly a century later, the fund – now held by the Maine Community Foundation – continues to distribute grants seeded decades ago through philanthropic gifts. The $600,000 transferred to MaineCF in 1993 has benefited organizations throughout the state with more than 700 grants that total over $1.86 million.
In 2018, its 25th year of grantmaking at the community foundation, Maine Charity Foundation Fund’s advisory committee focused on a challenge that confronts nearly one-third of older Mainers: lack of public transportation. Without a ride, they might miss medical appointments or face social isolation – both significant threats to good health and quality of life.
Maine Charity Foundation Fund grants last year provided a total of nearly $78,000 to help 11 nonprofits expand transportation services from Aroostook County to Portland. With the support of volunteers, those grants can go a long way. Neighbors Driving Neighbors in Mount Vernon in Kennebec County has proof: After three years, its 46 drivers provided 102 riders 2,395 rides and traveled 47,860 miles.
A couple hours away in Hancock County, a Maine Charity Foundation Fund grant supports Healthy Peninsula’s Age-Friendly Coastal Communities initiative that benefits residents of the Blue Hill Peninsula, Stonington, and Deer Isle. Healthy Island Project, another community-based organization, also offers programs for older residents.
At 96, Mary Coombs Mixer is the senior of seniors at Salt Air Seniors, a twice-monthly gathering of lunches and programs for older folks from the area. “Oh, I look forward to it – everyone does,” says Mixer, who still lives in her home.
In just two years, the Healthy Island Project’s volunteer-driven effort has outgrown its original lunch venue and draws crowds of up to 50 at every gathering, not to mention its monthly game nights.
Lifelines like these are key in this coastal region: Healthy Peninsula and the Healthy Island Project surveyed 765 residents, with an average age of 67. They found 82 percent wanted to age in their own homes and nearly a third felt social isolation.
Edythe Courville, another Salt Air Senior from Stonington, stresses the value of preserving this connected community: “It’s one of my lifelines… the sociability is so important. It keeps you young.”
