JTGF Updates 
In tribute to Wes Bonney’s long service to the John T. Gorman Foundation and people of Maine – and in recognition of his personal passion to increase and improve educational opportunities for Maine students – the Foundation is making a $500,000 grant to the Mitchell Institute’s Promise Scholars program, an initiative that supports students who come from extraordinarily challenging circumstances.
“A while ago, the landscape was not collaboration,” said Community Caring Collaborative (CCC) Director Charley Martin-Berry of organizations working with children and families in Washington County and Passamaquoddy communities. “It is now.” Here’s how CCC, its 50-plus partners, and community members have changed that landscape over the last 15 years.
An innovative partnership between organizations Mano en Mano and the Sunrise County Economic Council seeks to address a shortage in housing and need for year-round workers in Washington County. The John T. Gorman Foundation recently made a $250,000 impact investment – a below-market-rate loan made from the Foundation’s investment portfolio – to support the initiative’s pilot phase of building or renovating six to seven homes to help migrant workers become full-time community members and, eventually, homeowners.
Summer 2022 updates from the John T. Gorman Foundation
After two years of pandemic pivots, the Boys & Girls Club of Bangor hopes a return to normal programming this summer will give students a much-needed boost heading into the school year. In particular, two Foundation-funded initiatives target the Club’s youngest and oldest members – a Kindergarten Boot Camp and Work-Based Learning Program for teens.
The latest John T. Gorman Fellows are in the homestretch of the Fellowship’s intensive seminars. They have set long-term goals for their work, developed strategies to accomplish them, and have identified indicators they will use to mark their progress in the months and years ahead. Several Fellows have offered their reflections on the impacts the Fellowship has already had on their work and organizations.
Founded 52 years ago, Rural Community Action Ministry is not only addressing immediate needs for the people it serves, but is helping them open doors to greater economic stability. Its comprehensive approach – as well as the outsized impact this small organization has in an underserved region of Western Maine – is a major reason RCAM has been a longtime Direct Services Grantee for the John T. Gorman Foundation.
Message from President & CEO Nicole Witherbee Dear Friend, Here in Maine, we’re always grateful for the arrival of summer and the warmth it brings. Yet, we are undeniably emerging from this winter and spring into challenging times, with uncertainty ahead. Amid this moment of change, however, there … Read more
Youth exiting foster care face daunting challenges as they transition to adulthood – including high rates of homelessness – not only because of trauma they have faced in the past, but also limited support systems available to them in their young adulthoods. With Foundation funding, Portland Housing Authority has paired federal housing vouchers and intensive supports to put these youth in a much better position to thrive as adults – and parents.
In April, the John T. Gorman Foundation awarded the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine a grant to provide afterschool and summer programming for 240 children living temporarily in two hotels in South Portland. The goals of the program are not only to offer a positive space and academic support to students, but also to relieve stress for their entire families, who are coping with past trauma and difficult circumstances as refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers. We recently spoke with Baba Ly, Senior Program Director at the Club, to learn more about the trauma-informed approach they are using to serve them.
