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,” states 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
President and Founder Chris Lynch delivered a donation check to the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center, which provides 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 Office Administrator Marissa Hyland and agent Bill Gaynor (not pictured) 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.”
Yarmouth Farmer’s Market
Yarmouth
Agents Kristina Keaney and Carrie Martin of the Portland office delivered a donation check to the Yarmouth Farmer’s Market food voucher program. They also provided additional donations towards insulated bags.
Learn more about the Yarmouth Farmer’s Market from its website:
“The Yarmouth Farmers Market is located at 1 Railroad Square at the Bickford Pavilion just off Main Street. Our location provides overhead shelter from the elements and ample field parking for customers behind the pavilion. We look forward to seeing you on Thursdays 3pm-6pm May through October.
Our market aims to provide a full market basket experience. Our vendors sell locally grown produce, dairy products, meat, eggs, pasta, breads, prepared foods, desserts, flowers, pickled products, jams, honey, maple syrup, unique crafts and more. All of the products we offer are grown, made, or foraged in Maine.
While some individual vendors accept SNAP benefits, the market as a whole does not. Instead, we provide $15 Food Vouchers for anyone 18+ needing food assistance. The vouchers are available at the Yarmouth Food Pantry, at Yarmouth Community Services and at the Market Information Booth. They are recognized like cash and can be redeemed with any seasonal food vendor. (No food trucks.) Vendors are reimbursed in cash at the end of each market day.”
Tedford Housing
Brunswick
The Brunswick office 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.”
Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust
Damariscotta
The Damariscotta office delivered a donation check to the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, formerly the Damariscotta River Association and Pemaquid Watershed Association, a non-profit dedicated to preserving and promoting the natural, cultural, and historical heritage of the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region.
Learn more about the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust from its website:
“Coastal Rivers protects and stewards significant land and conservation easements. Our conservation efforts center on the Damariscotta-Pemaquid region, encompassing nine towns. Coastal Rivers owns 60 properties, holds 58 conservation agreements, aka conservation easements, and co-manages an additional 11 properties, which together total nearly 4,000 acres.
With dozens of natural areas, more than 51 miles of trails, and several islands in our care and open to the public, we work hard to create new opportunities for families and individuals to get out on the land and water while respecting the precious and sometimes fragile natural resources we all enjoy and benefit from.
Coastal Rivers also promotes marine conservation and monitors estuary water quality. Our focus areas include Damariscotta River estuary, Great Salt Bay as a whole, Johns Bay and the landscape that drains into these waters. Citizen volunteers collect estuary water monitoring data, count horseshoe crabs and keep an eye on the Damariscotta River estuary under expert staff guidance and in consultation with leading scientists.”
Coastal Kids Preschool
Damariscotta
President and Founder Chris Lynch delivered a donation check to the Coastal Kids Preschool in Damariscotta, which provides an inclusive, developmentally appropriate education for preschool children of all incomes and abilities.
Learn more about Coastal Kids Preschool from its website:
“Coastal Kids Preschool is an inclusive program in Damariscotta, Maine, serving children of all incomes and abilities. We offer high-quality, developmentally appropriate preschool, after-school, and summer camp programs for students from 18 months to 7 years old.
At Coastal Kids, we encourage children’s creativity, kindness, and learning through an active and supportive program of play and discovery. We are proud to hold accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). We are the only NAEYC accredited program in Lincoln County. We are also a Maine Roads to Quality (MRTQ) Level 4 program – the highest designation offered by the state’s early care and education professional development network.
The school serves a total of 98 students and has a staff of 40, including teachers, administrators, ed techs, 1:1 aides, and therapists. One third of our 78 full-time, licensed slots are allocated for children with identified special needs. We currently serve students from 17 towns in the midcoast region.”
Midcoast Humane
Brunswick & Edgecomb
Agents Randy Miller and Miles Geisler of the Damariscotta office delivered a donation check to Midcoast Humane, 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.”
AIO Food Pantry & Energy Assistance
Rockland
Agent and managing broker Brian Wickenden of the Camden office delivered a donation check to AIO Food Pantry, which is committed to ensuring that no one in their community goes hungry or is cold in their home.
Learn more about AIO Food Pantry from its website:
“Area Interfaith Outreach (AIO) was established in 1990 in Rockland, Maine, by area congregations, as one convenient place where people in need can go for nourishing food or energy assistance within Knox County. AIO is working to address food and energy insecurity in Knox County. Working hand in hand with our partner organizations, we strive to provide the services that are vital to a family’s health and well-being.
AIO’s two core programs—Food Assistance and Energy Assistance—ensure that Knox County residents who are food or energy insecure receive the support they need. AIO’s Food Assistance programs include the Food Pantry and the Weekend Meal Program (formerly known as Backpack), which ensure access to food for children and families when they need it.
Our Energy Assistance program provides heating assistance during the winter months, in partnership with local fuel providers. In addition, we help prevent electricity disconnections in partnership with CMP.
AIO also partners with other community service organizations to help our clients connect with additional resources they need.”
Midcoast Habitat for Humanity & ReStore
Rockport
Agent and managing broker Brian Wickenden of the Camden office delivered a donation check to Midcoast Habitat for Humanity and ReStore, which works in cooperation with the vision and principles of Habitat for Humanity International, bringing people together to build hope, homes and community and end poverty housing in Knox County, Maine.
Learn more about Midcoast Habitat for Humanity from its website:
“Midcoast Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.”
Island Connections
Mount Desert Island
Agent Janet Moore of the Northeast Harbor office delivered a donation check to Island Connections, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free transportation to those who need it most.
Learn more about Island Connections from its website:
“Island Connections began in 1997 as the result of an informal needs assessment performed by The Mount Desert Island Senior Task Force which consisted of multiple agencies and organizations interested in addressing the unmet needs of the underserved and senior population.
Today Island Connections is a very different organization. After 25 years of growth, change, and service in the community, transportation remains our top priority. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, we primarily offer free transportation to scheduled medical appointments as well as grocery shopping. In addition, Island Connections delivers meals for the Meals on Wheels program on Mount Desert Island, as well as food boxes for the Food Access Project to residents of MDI and Trenton. With greater exposure to our services during the pandemic, we are becoming more recognized as a vital and critical service on MDI.
Island Connections’ overall goal is to continue providing free transportation, delivering food to our neighbors, and being recognized in the community as an essential resource. We focus on addressing the many needs surrounding transportation and mobility for seniors and people with disabilities living on Mount Desert Island and the surrounding islands.”
Tree of Life
Blue Hill
Agents Laura Farr and Laura Pellerano of the Northeast Harbor office delivered a donation check to the Tree of Life Food Pantry in Blue Hill.
Learn more about Tree of Life from its website:
“Tree of Life is a nonprofit, volunteer organization dedicated to providing emergency and supplemental food for the community, providing and selling good used clothing, and fostering self-help and education on the Blue Hill Peninsula.
The Tree of Life Food Pantry and TurnStyle Thrift Shop work together as a unique, self-supporting organization. Sale of good quality used clothing at the TurnStyle is the primary source of funding, along with donations, for the Food Pantry.
Food is given free of charge to citizens from the eight towns on the Blue Hill Peninsula: Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Orland, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Surry. No one in need of food is turned away. Currently, over 900 families are registered. About 212 families come in for food each week.
Donations of used clothing arrive daily. These are sorted by volunteers; only quality and clean items are for sale — at low prices. Volunteers help shoppers select items for any age of men, women and children.”
