Brunswick Nonprofits and Charities

I wanted to share my story because I think it’s important that staff understand how their actions affect pet owners who have no other choice but to surrender a pet. <br><br>I had the worst experience with this organization just a little over a year ago. I had lost my first cat and wanted to add a new member to my pet family in her memory. I found the perfect fit, so I though. It turned out this pet didn’t get along well in my rented home and with my other pet. We tried everything to help in the adjustment. Consulting vets, new foods, better litter. I was out of money and out of options. <br><br>When I made the hard choice to drop off my precious pet with your staff, I could hear two staff inside talking and pointing. The staff who came to take my pet inside expressed no empathy, and asked many times what I had tried. After telling this staff so many times the fit simply wasn’t good, she took my pet, crate and all, and never looked back. I was obviously distressed. <br><br>When people ask me about this organization, this is what I tell them. Never have I felt so shamed in my life by staff who are meant to be supportive. I appeared to be judged based on this one interaction, not the many things I tried in my power to help this pet fit with my family. <br><br>Be aware of the impact you make on people, and how long lasting that can be.

Thanks to Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and the Tom Settlemire Community Garden, our family was granted a plot to grow organic fruits and vegetables. This is not something we could have accomplished on our own. <br><br>We are grateful for our 10' x 16' plot and for all that they do to ensure a successful crop. Not to mention, all the other land preservation efforts of BTLT that our family and community benefit from!

As a longtime colleague of The Liberation Institute founders, I have been watching their work for several years—and am increasingly inspired by their outreach and dedication. The yoga teacher training program in the Maine State Prison opens doors for and strengthens the remarkable men who choose to participate in it. Most of us living on the ‘outside’ have no idea what life ‘inside’ looks like, or how it affects families and communities. I had the privilege of attending the most recent training graduation, meeting the students, and the prison staff and hearing about their world. Just getting to and into the prison to offer weekly programs is a commitment. Liberation Institute’s devotion is beautiful to see!

Teens to Trails is working with 80+ middle and high schools to get students on inclusive, inspiring, play-based outdoor adventures. <br>And they take donations of outdoor gear and clothing and give it to the schools so students have the equipment they need at no cost. Just call them and drop it off. Or visit https://teenstotrails.org/donate-gear

More than ever, public libraries serve as places of community. At Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, people find and build community. And that is more important now than ever.<br /><br />I support Curtis because of the quiet spaces for writing and building a community of writers, like the free program I run every Friday called Fireside Writers in the historic 1904 Building in front of a roaring fireplace. Downstairs at the same time, the Library offers free coffee and free books, as well as a free music program for toddlers...and this is just Friday morning!<br /><br />I support Curtis because of the friendly and knowledgeable staff who go out of their way to help patrons with every need, from granting free Internet access to finding graphic novels to servicing their printing and copying needs. Curtis is open to ALL members of the community, including school groups, people with special needs, people who may be from the homeless shelter, clients of the local soup kitchen, local college professors, Maine Street business owners, old friends, and new ones.<br /><br />I support Curtis because of its creative spaces, like the Collaboratory, where the Library hosts interactive exhibits with local partner organizations. People of all ages can enjoy the activities there and leave their mark on the makerspace.<br /><br />I support Curtis for its innovative programming, like the Summer Speaker Series and the Contemporaries Film Series, that bring underrepresented people and ideas together for warm, appreciative public audiences.<br /><br />I support Curtis as it looks and plans for the future . . . I support the endowment fund, and am a member of the Contemporaries -- engaging a new generation of library users and supports. <br /><br />Lastly, but HUGELY, I support Curtis because of . . . all the books! Over 130,000 on the shelves . . . and more online.

Thanks to Midcoast Hunger Prevention Program, and a host of other local, state, and federal programs, my children have no clue that, as a family, we struggle with food insecurity. Thanks to MCHPP we have access to healthy, nutritious food that we otherwise would not. Thanks to MCHPP, my children know how delicious local organic produce tastes. Thanks to the volunteers and staff at MCHPP, my children have positive role models to look up to and emulate. Thanks to the people of MCHPP, my children have a sense of community I hadn’t experienced until very recently. <br> <br>In the pantry at MCHPP we have found basic necessities to fill the holes in our cupboards and the gaps in our diets -- items that help us to feel human and whole. In the soup kitchen we have found refuge, warmth, light, and hope. In the people of MCHPP we have found mentors, advocates, and friends.

My daughter played in the pit for their summer 2010 production of Aida, putting in many many hours of her time. The promised check for her employment commitment, $150, was more than tardy, though she made repeated contacts to the board president/music director. The check finally arrived 24 NOV 2010, two days after my call to the board president/music director expressing my dissatisfaction that my daughter's promised pay had not been tendered. Needless to say, my confidence level in this organization is non-existent.