Good Deeds

A group of students and faculty from St. Joseph’s College of Maine travelled to Haiti in January for a service trip. The group, which included associate professor  of business administration Beth Richardson and Molly Blumenthal, a nursing student. Both are Portland residents, and they worked with Partners in Development, a Massachusetts-based organization, in laying a house foundation, volunteering in a health clinic and providing expertise in developing budget spreadsheets, job descriptions and other administrative tools. Their work is part of ongoing efforts to help the people in a village on the outskirts of Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

Clark Insurance has launched a year-long TV campaign to support a number of area nonprofit and civic causes. The employee-owned insurance agency is using half its TV advertising budget to highlight eight different organizations on channels in the Time Warner Cable service area, using 300 15-second announcements for each organization. The first two announcements spotlight “teaching excellence” and the Portland Stage Company. Other featured organizations will include Preble Street, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland, Woodfords Family Services, Port Resources, The Community Schools and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

As part of Portland’s Downtown District’s Light Up Your Holidays month-long celebration, Shop For A Cause Day is an opportunity for local businesses to give back to their community. Downtown Portland shops, gallery and business owners select a recipient each September. In 2012, more than 40 participating businesses contributed $6,000 in sales on Dec. 1 to Junior Achievement of Maine.

Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England’s largest law firms, contributed more than 2,900 hours of pro bono legal services, valued at more than $700,000, to nonprofit organizations and community service projects in Maine, New Hampshire and around the world in 2012. The firm also contributed the most hours of any law firm in Maine for the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project, a project of the Maine Bar Foundation and Pine Tree Legal Assistance.

Partnerships

WMTW Channel 8 signed a 3-year partnership agreement with Maine Cancer Foundation. WMTW will serve as the official multi-media outlet to promote the Tri for a Cure and the Twilight 5K. Maine Cancer Foundation is a nonprofit organization funding cancer research, education and patient support programs. 

New Hires

Elizabeth “Liz” Cartland has been named director of development at the Portland Museum of Art. Cartland will be responsible for managing the museum’s fundraising staff, overseeing the implementation of a major gifts program, managing an overall strategy of annual leadership giving programs, and acting as lead fundraiser for the institution.

Charlie Woodworth has been named the new executive director of Maine Huts & Trails. Woodworth has been a member of Maine Huts & Trails for many years and replaces Nicole Freedman, who has returned to Boston. Maine Huts & Trails is a nonprofit organization which contributes to the economic, social and natural environment of Maine’s western mountain region.

Grants

As a result of a 30,300 March of Dimes grant, Maternity Care at Mid Coast Hospital will be expanding its CenteringPregnancy program. The grant will support the program by allowing for increased scheduling opportunities and patient capacity. CenteringPregnancy is an evidenced-based model of group prenatal care that integrates basic prenatal health assessment and education with social support. Facilitated by a Certified Nurse Midwife and Maternity Care nurses, the centering program at MidCoast Hospital allows women with similar “due months” to meet in a group setting and participate in their own care by weighing themselves, checking blood pressures, and recording in their own charts.

Innovations

Fluid Imaging Technologies, a Yarmouth-based laboratory instrumentation manufacturer, earned U.S. Patent No. 8,345,239 for the development of a new system and method for imaging birefringent particles in a fluid. The patented technology features two cross-polarizing filters that automatically detect the presence of anisotropic particles and microorganisms, take a digital image of each one and provide more than 30 different parameters of measurement data, all saved in a variety of formats. Light passes to the camera for imaging only after passing through the particles and both polarization analyzers. The new advance effectively isolates birefringent targets of interest for analysis.

Highland Green in Topsham, Maine’s first and largest master planned active adult community, launched its redesigned website, www.highlandgreenlifestyle.com, iniated by Highland Green Owner and Developer John B. Wasileski.

Recognition

Bruce Balfour was named as the top producer for the the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage real estate office in Cape Elizabeth. 

New Endeavors

Sun Media Group, The Forecaster’s parent company, has been granted a license to distribute Kidsville News, an award winning children’s publication, in Cumberland and Androscoggin counties. The full-color, educational tabloid is now available to all K-6 grade classrooms in Cumberland County free of charge, along with an educational web resource with downloadable worksheets broken out by grade levels. Beginning Friday, The Sun Journal, also a member of Sun Media Group, will begin distribution in Androscoggin County. Kidsville News mascot Truman, a friendly, 6-foot dragon, visited the Family Ice Center in Falmouth on Feb. 20 to promote the publication.

Sidebar Elements

---

The Sun Media Group’s  launch of Kidsville News was boosted by a visit from publication mascot Truman to the Family Ice Center in Falmouth last Wednesday. Truman is a friendly 6-foot dragon who promotes literacy for children.

Copy the Story Link