Sara Stockwell (in front, center) trains a group of volunteers for the Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation’s adaptive ski program at Sunday River. Left to right: Larry Collins, Jo-Anne Bushey, Sara Stockwell, and Ray Glew. Photo by Brandon Merry, courtesy MASR

Meet Sara Stockwell, Oxford County Committee advisor and a dedicated volunteer

In 2004, Sara Stockwell was managing production and inventory as a co-owner of Lovell Designs, a jewelry business in Portland, when she decided she was ready for a change. She set her sights on volunteering at Sunday River for Maine Handicapped Skiing, now Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation (MASR). She started in its summer program as a kayak and canoe instructor and eventually earned certification to teach blind and developmentally disabled individuals how to kayak and ski.

Fifteen years later, Stockwell finds the work ceaselessly fulfilling. “Every day that I am involved is an adventure for the kids and for me,” she writes. “It can be a challenge to figure out what will work for each individual to help them ski or paddle, and I love exploring that challenge.”

Stockwell considers it an honor to be a team captain for MASR’s annual Ski-A-Thon, which helps raise money to keep the program free for all participants. “They have enough daily challenges,” she says. “I have learned over the years that we can make a difference and change lives.”

Stockwell was born in Old Town. Early on she gravitated to the outdoors with summer jobs as a camp counselor and at Old Town Canoe Company where her father was president. She attended Abbot Academy (now Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts) and Colby Junior College, the latter so she could train as a kayaker with the U.S. whitewater team at Dartmouth, which wasn’t co-ed yet. Upon graduation she faced a difficult decision: train full time for the 1972 Munich Olympics or complete her education. She chose to enroll at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, graduating with a BA in English.

She married William Stockwell in 1973 and landed a job teaching fourth grade at the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts. The couple’s sons, Quentin and Carl, were born while they were at Fay. They moved to Eaglebrook School in nearby Deerfield where she taught English, served as a dorm parent and assistant librarian, and coached alpine skiing.

The family relocated to their current home in Waterford in 1984. Stockwell volunteered at the local school, led a Cub Scout den, and competed in carriage driving with her horses. She also worked part time for The Nature Conservancy as caretaker of Douglas Mountain in Sebago, doing trail work and leading groups on nature walks. “I have grown to love Oxford County,” she says, “discovering new places, trails, ponds, mines and mountains.” The natural beauty, she states, “feeds my soul.”

Stockwell joined MaineCF’s Oxford County Committee in 2012 as a way to give back to her part of Maine and has chaired the committee for several years. “The advisors are a diverse group,” she notes, “who bring a wide range of experience to the table in our decision-making process.”

She sees the Oxford County Fund as a great resource for small nonprofits in the region as it helps some get off the ground and others bridge gaps in funding. “Every group is scrambling to raise money these days,” she says, “and we provide a service by taking some of the pressure off.”

Oxford County is not a wealthy area, Stockwell explains; “Children here do not have a lot of opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty.” The Oxford County Fund has supported healthy food programs, outdoor education and leadership training. Asked if she has a favorite grant, Stockwell replies, “Any project that involves children and/or the outdoors is dear to me.”