The Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism

Looking for an easy way to help out??

The Bodwell Center collects Box Tops For Education coupons to support local schools.  Each coupon is worth $0.10 to a school, and they are so easy to collect.  Look for them on many of your favorite brand name products (cereal, rice mixes, cake mixes, frosting, vegetables, snacks, etc.)  In the last 7 months, we have donated over $100 to local schools just from Box Tops!!  With your help we can double that before the end of the semester.

To get a list of products that have coupons, visit www.boxtops4education.com.

Simply cut off the coupons, and drop them off at the Bodwell Center on the 3rd floor of the Memorial Union or at the Black Bear Exchange at the back of Estabrooke Hall.

For more information, contact Lisa Morin on First Class or 581-4194.

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New Community Partner Posted – Penquis Foster Grandparents Program

The Bodwell Center for Service and Volunteerism has added a new partner to our website.  In an effort to serve the entire University of Maine community, the Bodwell Center is promoting the opportunity provided to retirees and seniors through the Foster Grandparent Program.

Maria Staples, Project Coordinator, for the Foster Grandparent Program provides this information:

The Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), which began in 1965, provides tutors and mentors to children and youth who are disadvantaged or have disabilities.  Working one- on- one or in groups and serving between 15 and 40 hours a week, Foster Grandparents provide support in schools, Head Start centers, child care centers and other public and non-profit locations. . Foster Grandparents volunteer with children who are a few months old up to age twenty-one!  Serving at one of thousands of local organizations Foster Grandparents help children learn to read, review school work, reinforce values, provide one- on- one tutoring and guide children at a critical time in their lives.  Foster Grandparents share their love, time and experience; they are a role model, a mentor and a friend.  Put simply, they give the kind of comfort and love that sets a child on the path toward a successful future.

Volunteers must be 55 years of age or older and meet income guidelines.  Foster Grandparents receive a tax-free stipend, mileage reimbursement to and from the volunteer site, pre-service orientation, training and supplemental accident and liability insurance while on duty.  The Penquis Foster Grandparent Program has approximately 80 Foster Grandparents serving at 63 different sites throughout its fourteen county service area. 

Volunteering leads to new discoveries and new friends.  Studies show that volunteering helps you live longer and promotes a positive outlook on life. This inter-generational program utilizes our only increasing natural resource—seniors—who are assisting our future resource–our children.  For more information on the Penquis Foster Grandparent Program or to receive an application please call Maria Staples at 973-3611 or Cindy Whitney at 973-3684 or 1-800-215-4942.

Check out our Partners page for other opportunity to serve in the local community.  Please do not hesitate to contact us to explore the benefits of community service!

Funding for the Penquis Foster Grandparent Program is provided through the Corporation for National Service, the State of Maine Bureau of Elder and Adult Services, United Way, donations, fundraising efforts and Penquis.

Maine College Students Rank 6th In the Nation for Volunteerism

A report just out from the Maine Commission for Community Service states a “Report on Volunteering and Civic Life Holds Good News About Maine.”  According to the annual update, Volunteering and Civic Life in America, Maine teens and college students rank high among those in other states for commitment to volunteerism.

• The rate of volunteering among teenagers (44 percent) places Maine number one in the ranking of states. Like exercise and many other habits, volunteering and engagement in community or civic life are habits that, if formed early, last a lifetime. Equally important is the fact involvement in community life as a service volunteer rather than service recipient supports positive youth development.
• Maine’s strong showing with regard to volunteering by college students (37 percent of students, sixth highest in the nation) is followed by a strong rate of volunteering among young adults just beyond college age. The rate of volunteering among young adults (34 percent) earned Maine a rank of number two in the nation.

Here at UMaine, we know how involved our students are, and we are grateful for your service to your fellow students and the surrounding communities.

To read the entire press release for more highlights on Maine, click Maine Service Commission News.

For more information on how to get involved, visit the Bodwell Center on the 3^rd floor of the Memorial Union or at www.umaine.edu/volunteer.

Fill The Bus Food Drive – Oct 20, 2012

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Make a Difference Working with Youth!

The Black Bear Mentor Program will be accepting applications for new mentors from now until the end of September. Mentors are matched with elementary or middle school-aged students from the surrounding community and pairs meet once a week for two hours. This is a tremendous opportunity to have fun, be a great role model, and make a difference in the life of a child!

For more information contact Keri West or Roosevelt Boone on First Class.

Football Skills & Strength Clinic

Click here for a Final 48 Registration Form and position breakdown.  If you have questions, please contact Roosevelt Boone at R.boone38@yahoo.com or 202-375-8033.

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2012 Campus Compact Award Winners at UMaine

Three Maine Faculty Members Receive Maine Campus Compact’s

Donald Harward Award for Service-Learning Excellence

Contact: Craig DeForest, (207) 786-8346, craig@mainecompact.org          May 1, 2012

LEWISTON – On April 20th at Bates College in Lewiston, three Maine faculty members were honored for making public service an integral part of their teaching. The Donald Harward Award for Faculty Service-Learning Excellence recognizes faculty who integrate community or public service into the curriculum and who work to institutionalize service-learning. The award is named for Donald W. Harward, valued founder of Maine Campus Compact and former board member of national and Maine Campus Compacts.  Award winners have shown clear evidence of reflection, community benefit, reciprocity with community partners and a commitment to advocating for service-learning and/or community action on campus and beyond.

Faculty members receiving the award include, Susan Baker, University of Maine at Augusta; Kathleen Dunckel, Unity College; and Melissa Ladenheim, University of Maine.

Established in 1994 and hosted at Bates College, MCC is a statewide coalition of 18 college and university presidents working to build strong communities and a more just democratic society by developing students’ citizenship and problem solving skills through community-based learning.  MCC is an affiliate state office of Campus Compact, which encompasses more than 1,100 college and university presidents – representing some 6 million students-dedicated to promoting community service, civic engagement, and service-learning in higher education. More than 15,000 student volunteers at MCC member campuses provide some 1.6 million hours of service annually, with an economic impact of more than $25 million a year.

(Donald Tuski, President, Maine College of Art; Theo Kalikow, President, UMaine Farmington;Melissa Ladenheim, University of Maine; Liz McCabe Park, Director, Maine Campus Compact)

Campus Compact President’s Campus Leadership Award

Each year Maine Campus Compact recognizes a student organization or campus department at each member institution for contributions to community service, service-learning, and/or civic engagement efforts on their campuses.

The groups must demonstrate an innovative approach to enhancing campus-based efforts to address community issues, efforts to sustain their work on campus, and a deep, widespread impact on the campus and the community.

This year at the recommendation of President Ferguson, Maine Campus Compact is presenting a President’s Campus Leadership Award to UMaine Circle K.

The UMaine Circle K group has been actively involved in service on campus for many years.  They have an active membership and strong leadership.  The local, national and international service missions for Circle K focus on the needs of children so in 2010 the members decided to host a St. Balderick’s event on Maine Day 2011 to raise money to support pediatric cancer research.  The plan for a St. Balderick’s event is to get people to pledge to shave their heads in return for cash donations.  The Circle K membership did an outstanding job of publicizing the event through posters, tabling, e-mails, word of mouth, and Campus radio and newspaper.  As with many events on campus, they didn’t truly know how many people were planning to participate until the day of the event, but they were pretty comfortable they would have at least 20 people and would meet their goal of $2,000.  On Maine Day more than 100 people came to turn in their donations and shave their heads.  Students and staff participated side-by-side.  At the event, participants shared their stories of how cancer had impacted the lives of the children and families that they know.  Circle K truly engaged the entire campus around this event and released a passion they had not expected.  The final total for the event was $14,363.  The two top participants raised over $2,000 each, and the top group raised over $4,500.  The efforts of the Circle K students brought this campus together in support of a very important mission, and Circle K has committed to making this an annual event.

(Liz McCabe Park, Director, Maine Campus Compact;  Emily Kubicke, President, UMaine Circle K;and Lisa Morin, Coordinator, Bodwell Center at UMaine)

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Clean Sweep Sale 2012

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Hirundo National Wildlife Refuge

Check out these great programs this weekend at Hirundo:

Saturday, May 5th - Stream and Marsh Paddle, 9am-12pm 

Morning paddle along Pushaw and Dead Streams, listen for the peculiar sound of the American Bittern and observe the seemingly immovable Great Blue Heron fish. Don’t forget your camera for the photo contest. The best photos will be posted on Hirundo’s website and Facebook.

Registration requested at (207)944-9259 or (207)827-2230. Feel free to bring your own boat.

Directions from the South: Take the I-95 N. Take the ME-43 exit 197 to Old Town/Hudson. Go 0.3 mi to the end of the off ramp, and turn left onto Rt. 43 (Hudson Rd). Go west 5.5 miles and look for Gate 3 (35 Hudson Rd) red sign on your right (north side of Rt. 43). Meet in the parking lot.

Saturday, May 5th – Restoration of Old Apple Trees

Renae Moran, University of Maine Tree Fruit Specialist, will demonstrate the renovation of old apple trees to improve their appearance and ability to bear fruit.  Glen Koehler of the UMaine Extension Pest Management Office will also be on board to discuss preventing pest damage to apple trees and fruit. This is a hands-on workshop, please bring saws and pole pruners.

Please call to register (207)944-9259 or (207)827-2230.

Meet at the Parker Reed Shelter, located at Lac D’or – take Gate 1 and follow dirt road. See directions below.

Directions to Hirundo Wildlife Refuge

Directions from the South: Take the I-95 N. Take the ME-43 exit 197 to Old Town/Hudson. Go 0.3 mi to the end of the off ramp, and turn left onto Rt. 43 (Hudson Rd). Go west 5.2 miles and look for the large red sign (Gate 1) on your right (north side of Rt. 43). Enter at Gate 1, follow gravel road 0.5 miles to the Pine Tree Parking area.  The shelter is further on your left, along the shore of Lac D’or.

Help the Bangor Humane Society!

The Bangor Humane Society is competing in the ASPCA Rachel Ray $100K Challenge.
There are fifty competing shelters and BHS is the only one in Maine in the competition.

Support the BHS by voting at:
www.votetosavelives.org.
You can vote daily from April 5-12th.  As the saying goes, “vote early and often.”
What a boost this would be to the Bangor Humane Society.

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