University of Maine Foundation Recognized for Support of Camp Susan Curtis Art Education Center
Contact: Amos E. Orcutt, President, University of Maine Foundation (207) 581-5100
ORONO — At its recent annual benefit dinner and dance, the Susan L. Curtis Foundation recognized the University of Maine Foundation for its support of the Camp Susan Curtis Arts Education Center at the Hewnoaks Volk Family Center in Lovell.
The benefit was held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.
The University of Maine Foundation leases the Hewnoaks Volk Center to Camp Susan Curtis to operate an art education center, providing educational programs in a summer camp format for disadvantaged Maine teenagers. The innovative approach uses various forms of art and history, along with the influence of the Maine landscape, to teach and inspire young artists. In addition, the program encompasses various life and social skill lessons and is offered tuition-free to at-risk Maine teenagers.
The fifteen acre property on Kezar Lake was bequeathed to the University of Maine Foundation by a Volk family member in 2005 with a preference for art education. It is one of the largest gifts the University of Maine has ever received.
Amos Orcutt, president and CEO, accepted the award, an oil painting of a Camp Susan Curtis camper done by the camp’s program director, Eric Kuntz, on behalf of the Foundation.
“The decision to establish the partnership with Camp Susan Curtis was easy; it was the right thing to do,” Orcutt said, addressing the audience of 400. “The best possible investment we can make is in our youth. We are happy to play a role in improving the future of Maine’s children through this wonderful partnership.”
Since its establishment more than 35 years ago by former Maine Governor Kenneth Curtis and his wife Polly, in memory of their daughter Susan, Camp Susan Curtis has been dedicated to serving disadvantaged and at-risk youth of Maine with more than 13,000 Maine children attending camp sessions.