"Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed... Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders."

-Henry David Thoreau

Happy Spring Everyone!

Spring has arrived early to Maine! As the snow finishes melting away, the branches are beginning to bud, and the flowers are starting to sprout, we can't help but be reminded by the fact that our favorite time of year at MATE is just around the corner: Housing Ministry Season!

This year, we have cast many seeds upon the ground, and we have great excitement of the wonders that will flourish this year through our partnerships to build lives of hope, dignity and security in Central Western Maine!

Mission at the Eastward is thrilled to announce the hiring of our next Operations Manager, Lucas Fitch!

A native of the Farmington area, Lucas has served the community in a variety of ways, including giving local kids a loving home as a foster parent for the past 9 years.

In his free time, Lucas enjoys a variety of outdoor activities and is passionate about recreating and spending time in the beautiful natural landscape that makes up Central Western Maine.

Lucas has extensive experience in management roles, including in maintenance and building repair, and he is excited to bring his leadership skills to MATE's Housing Ministry Program and help serve his greater community. 

Help us give a warm welcome to the man that many of you will be working with this summer while visiting Maine on your summer service trip!

Last summer, we hosted 13 workgroups and 41% more volunteers than we had in 2022, and we were able to complete 12.5% more projects, helping about 10 additional members of our community to have warmer, safer, and more compassionate homes.

This summer, we'll continue the momentum we experienced last year as we are expecting to host 8% more volunteers than we had in 2023 from 18 workgroups, 7 of these being new church partners, from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even Tennessee!

Out of the 334 total volunteers that we plan to host this coming summer, we're expecting that about 45% of these will be teenagers, which is fantastic and in-line with one of MATE's top priorities: to provide powerful enrichment and faith-forming experiences to young adults that steward the next generation of leaders in our communities.

We are grateful to all of you, our volunteers, donors, and partners, for your support! Thank you.

One of the methods that we experimented with last season was hosting skilled "Site Supervisors" to lead job sites for workgroups with less experience who may need a little more one-on-one coaching. These Site Supervisors were highly regarded by workgroups and will be returning this year, specifically during the last week of June when we will be hosting about 150 volunteers, most of those being teenagers.

RETURN OF SITE SUPERVISORS

If you are interested in learning more about the role of a Site Supervisor or would be interested in becoming one during this upcoming season, please click on the buttons below.

Increasing Need for Service

Last season, we experienced an exponential increase in demand for our service, receiving 86% more applications than we had the year prior. We were able to complete 45 home repair projects and touch the lives of about 90 of our neighbors, but many more went without the repairs they needed. Our goal this year is to complete 50 home repair projects and help at least 100 members of our community remain safe and healthy in their homes. In order to continue to expand our housing ministry program and deliver help, hope, and connection to as many of our neighbors as possible, we've had to scale our program to match the increased need. Thus, our expenses have also increased significantly.

We need YOUR HELP to make this expansion sustainable longterm and ensure that our brothers and sisters with no where else to turn continue to receive the help they need.

Please consider making a tax deductible donation today to help us build a community of help, hope, and connection in Central Western Maine.

MAIL CHECK TO:

Mission at the Eastward

PO Box 206

Farmington, ME 04938

Thank you!

MATE is blessed with great partners. Thank you to all our volunteers, donors, funders, church partners and community collaborators. We could not do this work without the support of each of you. We are grateful!

Oftentimes at MATE, we hear from homeowners that our service was their last and only hope for receiving the critical repairs they needed. This was certainly the case last fall when MATE was able to help a couple conduct repairs required by the state to maintain custody of their beloved grandsons.

The MATE homeowner partner explained the dire situation she was facing.

“I felt like I had rocks on top of me and I couldn’t breathe. I was exhausted. I couldn’t sleep at night. I was afraid that today’s the day they’re going to come and take the boys because we couldn’t get this done."

She continued to explain what it meant for her to get the help that she needed. "I’ve got the boys, and that was my goal: to keep the boys. We’ve been worrying about this for like two years, and to have this done was like a miracle.”

The home repairs we conduct at MATE are very important, but arguably just as important are the relationships that are developed between the homeowners and the volunteers that have a ripple effect far greater than we are able to comprehend.

This homeowner smiled when sharing what it was like working with a group of MATE volunteers. "They were very polite and caring. The last tile they signed and put it up and it’s to give us good luck and a prayer. They prayed before they did it and they prayed after, which was very much needed. I needed a prayer right about then."

Want to volunteer without using a hammer?

MATE is looking for volunteers to help in other ways besides housing repairs. MATE is a faith-based 501(c) 3 non-profit which relies on volunteers for much of its administration and operations. Good news: we have limited overhead, AND, our volunteers are greatly appreciated! Bad news: we have limited staff who do a great job but are STRETCHED! Even with a hands-on board, we would sure love to have year-round skilled volunteers for a variety of projects. You could join us! (Or share this with someone you know!)

Right now we need experienced volunteers to help with fundraising, grant writing and marketing. We are always looking for local volunteers, but this work can also be done remotely. To find out more, contact Chris DeLisle, MATE's Executive Director or Sharon Cowen, MATE's Board Chair.

This past January, Mission at the Eastward was blessed to officially welcome to new wonderful members to our board: Michael Malek & Kat Zimmermann. Both Michael and Kat bring an array of strengths and insight to the organization and we are so excited and thankful to have their help!

Join us in giving a long overdue welcome to both Michael and Kat!

Michael has spent his life as a restaurant food service manager and independent consultant specializing in expansion, renovation, and program development, with a passionate avocation in building.

He grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. He and his wife, Pam, live in New Vineyard, Maine during the summer and outside Chapel Hill, North Carolina the rest of the year.

If you were part of a MATE service trip during the summer of 2023, you may have ran into Michael who worked as a special season-long volunteer conducting a variety of activities, including serving as a Site Supervisor.  

Kat has been a part of the MATE community since coming on a recovery trip with her Youth Group in 2016. Over the years it became clear to her that she wanted to help MATE in its mission to engage more youth.

Kat is a New Hampshire native, but in the last few years has lived in many places including Germany, Ireland, and NYC. She is currently a student at Columbia University studying Political Science and she intends to pursue a career in Consulting or International Relations. Among many other activities, Kat loves her role as VP of Student Council, likes to take walks with her dog, and enjoys trying new flavors of tea.

• Become a homeowner partner (click button below for application)
• Volunteer to work (click button below to contact us)
• Donate time, talent or goods in support of our cause to build lives in Central Western Maine

We look forward to providing quality content to our followers to keep you all engaged and knowledgeable about the exciting things happening at MATE because of loyal supporters like you. Give us a follow!

We are extremely grateful! We are so very excited for the future!

Mission Partner Grantors and Donors

• Presbyterian Women

Mission Partner Community Members

• Western Maine Community Action
• Center for Entrepreneurial Services

Mission Partner Churches

• Central Square Congregational Church
• St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church
• Supplee Presbyterian Church
• St. Joseph & Rose of Lima Parishes
• Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
• Supplee Presbyterian Church

Memorial and Honoring Gifts

• In memory of Bob Beauregard
• In memory of Joyce Shatto

Individual & Family Donors

• Thank you to our many individual and family donors who make up the bulk of our donor base. We are so blessed to have you all behind the work we're doing in rural Central Western Maine!

**for the purpose of confidentiality, we will no longer reveal the names of our individual and family donors**