The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation Celebrates 25 Years of Community Support and Awards 25 Foundation

Published on : 12/19/2022

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation is celebrating its 25-year anniversary and awarding grants totaling over $200,000 to New England organizations that are helping to make their communities vibrant and strong.

These 25 nonprofit grant recipients are engaged in diverse efforts to foster healthy and vital communities throughout New England, from providing affordable housing to literacy services and educational support for families, to life-changing services for survivors of abuse, to recreational and outdoor opportunities for communities, and more. 

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation was created in 1997 to help fulfill Bangor Savings Bank’s commitment to improving communities. Based in Bangor, Maine, the Foundation was originally organized and operated for advancing scientific, literary, education, and other community initiatives. Today, the Foundation continues this stewardship by giving to initiatives that make our communities more prosperous, livable, and vibrant, and has expanded its giving in the areas of economic and workforce development, education, social and civil services, culture and arts, and health and wellness.

“The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation has kept its steadfast commitment for over 25 years to support the critical work of nonprofits in the region,” said Bob Montgomery-Rice, President and CEO of Bangor Savings Bank. “Looking forward, we are eager to learn how each of these organizations further their respective missions to build on the betterment of our communities throughout New England.”

The Coast Guard Foundation received a $25,000 grant ($12,500 over two years) to provide the Coast Guard Station in Eastport, Maine with a multi-function recreational area for Coast Guard members and the community.

“We are extremely grateful to The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation for their generous support of this project,” said Marc Cregan, Coast Guard Foundation Regional Director of Philanthropy for New England. “The addition of a picnic pavilion and outdoor recreation area at the Eastport housing complex will give 25 Coast Guard members a place to relax with their families and each other when they are not on the water serving the citizens of Maine. And the nearby hiking trails that will be built on the property will allow them to build comradery with the broader community while they enjoy the beauty Downeast Maine has to offer.”

Four additional recipients who represent the positive community impact of all the grant recipients are:

$7,500
Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire
Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire
The Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire provides services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, elder abuse, stalking, human trafficking, and child abuse. Their services include court advocacy, education and outreach, emergency shelter, housing assistance, and more. This grant will help them modernize their facility to make it more secure and reliable, and to increase programming for their clients.

$10,000
Friends of River Valley
Rumford, Oxford County, Maine
Friends of River Valley provides community-based, tangible solutions to help improve nutrition, wellness, and education for children and families of Western Maine’s Androscoggin River Valley. This grant will help implement a literacy and exercise program for school-age children in the River Valley, and will increase access to meals, nutrition, books, and a variety of school, community, and wellness programs.

$10,000
Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Machiasport, Washington County, Maine
Maine Coast Heritage Trust is a land conservation organization protecting and caring for vital lands on the coast of Maine. This grant will support the Picture Rocks project, returning six acres in Machiasport, Maine to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, permanently restoring Tribal access to and ownership of the Picture Rocks property and giving the Tribe oversight of the petroglyphs.

$7,500
Step Up Parents
Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Step Up Parents provides financial assistance to kinship caregivers, those relatives and close family friends who step up to care for, nurture, and protect children who lack a safe place to live because of their parents’ struggle with substance use disorder. Through this grant, Step Up Parents will be able to expand this essential program into Maine.
Additional recipients are:
Appalachian Mountain Club I $5,500
Greenville, Piscataquis County, Maine
 
Bangor Area Homeless Shelter I $15,000
Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine
 
Bangor Historical Society I $5,500
Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine
 
Calais Community Hospital I $10,000
Calais, Washington County, Maine
 
Center Theatre Inc. I $10,000
Dover Foxcroft, Piscataquis, Maine
 
Community Dental I $5,500
Biddeford, York County, Maine
 
Down East Family YMCA I $7,500
Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine
 
Friends in Action I $5,500
Ellsworth, Hancock County, Maine
 
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bangor I $7,000
Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine
 
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland I $7,000
Portland, Cumberland County, Maine
 
Habitat for Humanity of Waldo County I $7,000
Belfast, Waldo County, Maine
 
Jesup Memorial Library I $5,500
Bar Harbor, Hancock County, Maine
 
Mad Horse Theatre Company I $6,000
South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine
 
Marguerite’s Place, Inc. I $6,500
Nashua, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
 
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program I $7,500
Brunswick, Cumberland County, Maine
 
Moosehead Marine Museum I $5,500
Greenville, Piscataquis County, Maine
 
Northeast Hearing & Speech I $7,500
Portland, Cumberland County, Maine
 
Penobscot Bay YMCA I $10,000
Rockport, Knox County, Maine
 
Preble Street I $7,500
Portland, Cumberland County, Maine
 
The Courageous Steps Project I $7,500
Stillwater, Penobscot County, Maine