“Achieving success and personal glory in athletics has less to do with wins and losses than it does with learning how to prepare yourself so that at the end of the day, whether on the track or in the office, you know that there was nothing more you could have done to reach your ultimate goal."
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Olympian
Whether aerobics or another type of fitness class, Julie Marchese...Read more
Posted 03.07.2016 under News and Resources
At age seventeen, Stephanie Littlehale of Rockport was homeless and sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot. A little more than four years later, a Mitchell Scholar, she graduated as valedictorian of her class at the University of Maine and she is now a third-year law student at Georgetown University. Together with Senator Justin Alfond and Kristen Miale, President of the Good Shepherd Food Bank, Littlehale shared her story at the ...Read more
Posted 02.01.2016 under News and Resources
Twenty teardrop-shaped, “spaceships” maneuver around a classroom. Each ship, a hula hoop made of PVC pipe and duct tape is held with two hands, around the body at waist height, by a child. Silently they wander around the room trying to avoid contact with other spaceships. They pause for instruction. With a show of hands they indicate whether moving around the room without talking was easy or challenging. The spaceships begin moving again, but...Read more
Posted 01.29.2016 under News and Resources
What’s in a greeting? A group of middle school boys wander around a classroom considering whether to greet each other with a wave, handshake or a hug. Sam Eley, a Trainer for the Reducing Sexism and Violence Program (RSVP) explains, “The boys have to decide how to greet each other and then practice reciprocating with the least physical contact.” It’s a bit like rock-paper-scissors. A wave beats a handshake, a handshake beats a hug and a hug...Read more
Posted 01.02.2016 under News and Resources
A recipe for success: take one former jail building, add one woman’s vision, mix with community support and bake in Skowhegan, Maine.
In 2007 Amber Lambke was not an accomplished baker. She did not churn out dense loaves of crispy, crusted, flour-dusted peasant bread. No french baguettes. No focaccia. Today, she is the president of Maine Grains, a manufacturer of locally grown, stone-milled grains as well as executive director of...Read more
Posted 12.30.2015 under News and Resources
2015 grantee Maine Inside Out is a Portland-based arts and social justice organization that collaborates with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people to create and share original theater in and outside correctional facilities. MOI uses theater as a tool for overcoming oppression, finding voice, storytelling, redefining how participants see themselves and how others see them. The Fund’s grant supports their theater-based reintegration...Read more
Posted 12.04.2015 under News and Resources
As the conflict in Syria deepens, the plight of refugees fleeing that war-torn area continues to deteriorate. In the face of Syria’s suffering Partners for World Health, a South Portland-based non-profit, is collecting and preparing thousands of pounds of medical supplies for shipment to Syria to help treat traumatic injuries, as well as baby bottles and mattresses to meet the basic medical necessities of a displaced population.
...Read more
Posted 12.02.2015 under News and Resources
Maine Women's Fund CEO, Sarah Ruef-Lindquist joined the Common Good Grant Committee on Tuesday, November 17th, at the McKeen Center for the Common Good at the Bowdoin College to discuss philanthropy in Maine, along with Deighton Spooner, Chair of the Maine Community Foundation board of trustees.
The McKeen Center offers Bowdoin College students opportunities to explore themes of community responsibility, active citizenship...Read more
Posted 11.19.2015 under News and Resources
Antonia Caruso began dieting in fifth grade and by her freshmen year of high school had reduced her caloric intake to 500 calories per day and her five-foot, five-inch frame to a dangerous 92 pounds. After hospitalization and treatment, and under the careful supervision of a nutritionist, Caruso regained her strength, resumed a regular routine and started cheerleading. As a sport, cheering depends on strength, flexibility and agility...Read more
Posted 11.09.2015 under News and Resources
InnovateHER 2016 Business Plan Competition
New Ventures Maine (Formerly Women, Work, and Community) is looking for Entrepreneurs and Innovators who have an existing business or an idea for a product or service that will improve and empower the lives of women and girls.
Submit your business plan and tell us how your idea will benefit women and girls. NVME will submit the best business plan for a chance to...Read more
Posted 10.20.2015 under News and Resources
In mid-September, the Fund visited the Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center in Bangor.
The 2015 Maine Women's Fund grant supports the Health Center's Gaining Access Project (GAP), which helps meet the basic healthcare necessities of the uninsured and people with low incomes. By providing services at reduced fees, the Heath Center ensures that there is no gap in routine, preventative health care services for women while they move...Read more
Posted 10.15.2015 under News and Resources
Highlighting the triumphs of Maine women & girls.
On Friday October 2nd, Marine Patrol Specialist Corrie Roberts made a daring leap onto a 40-foot lobster boat that was discovered circling in rough waters off of Rockland Harbor. The coordinated attempt to save Robert Staples, 78, of North Haven who died onboard the Legacy from natural causes, combined the efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard, Maine...Read more
Posted 10.13.2015 under News and Resources
On September 15, the Maine Women’s Fund hosted seven organizations for a MaineShare presentation training at our offices in the Lunt Professional Building in Falmouth. MaineShare provides philanthropically-minded individuals an easy way to donate to over 40 statewide organizations, including the Maine Women’s Fund. Through payroll giving contributions and direct gifts, donors help organizations make Maine a better place to live though health...Read more
Posted 09.24.2015 under News and Resources
Watch Maine Women's Fund CEO, Sarah Ruef-Lindquist on Above The Fold – Rapid Fire Roundtable with Alan Hinsey on September 4, 2015 along with three other guests, talking about local, regional, national and international news. View the video here.Read more
Posted 09.09.2015 under News and Resources
The Maine Women’s Fund, the only Maine foundation focused exclusively on advancing women’s and girls’ economic security, has hired Deer Isle-Stonington High School 1997 graduate Lauren Webster LaFrance as Communications and Marketing Director. A Maine native, she’s a longtime resident of the Portland area but has also resided in Deer Isle, Strong, and on the border in Jackman. She
Posted 07.23.2015 under News and Resources
