My Nonprofit Reviews
Jan Church
Review for Friends of Acadia, Bar Harbor, ME, USA
As a resident of Mt. Desert Island and frequent user of beautiful but cash-strapped Acadia National Park, i am often surprised at how much Friends of Acadia does to further opportunities for visitors to the Park, who numbered more than 2,500.000 people last year. FOA organizes large numbers of volunteers who maintain and groom the legendary carriage roads I walk and ski on. I marvel as I hike mountain trails beautifully restored with FOA funds. I join local friends who volunteer for FOA's annual roadside cleanup, and have served on a committee that plans walking paths from villages to mountain trail complexes. Our young granddaughter has enjoyed an FOA family day which encourages children to experience the outdoors. I read the fine Friends of Acadia Journal from beginning to end for inspiration and information. I like knowing that any contributions to FOA will be leveraged to the full through partnerships and use of volunteers to benefit so many, many people.
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I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
In talking with Park visitors or using the Park with friends, their appreciation of many of the opportunities provided by FOA is evident, especially the stone-laid trails and the winter grooming of the carriage roads for cross-country skiing. The participants in the hard work of spring road cleanup obviously find the experience actually fun as well as satisfying.
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Friends of Acadia might find a way to let visitors know about its part in their enjoyment of the Park by small, unobtrusive signs at restored trail sections stating that this work was done with FOA funds and perhaps a small bit of that trail's history.
