Most people’s basements are packed full. Old family photographs, records, furniture, you name it. But Tom Christensen’s basement is full of cars. Often as many as 5,000 at a time.Click here for the rest of the story by Kathleen MacFarline in the Bangor Daily News.
The handmade wooden cars Christensen assembles in his basement workshop are donated to children in hospitals and homeless shelters, or those with parents in the military or in prison.
“It’s all about making some kids happy,” Christensen says. “There are a lot of kids in tough situations that they didn’t cause. It gives them a time to step out of their problem for a while. Some kids just need to know somebody cares about them.”
The project began in 2007 when the University of Maine professor of electrical engineering technology saw an article in Workbench magazine. It was about the ToyMakers, a Florida organization that provides free wooden toys to children in need.
Christensen founded the ToyMakers of Bangor, and at first, he spent up to an hour and a half creating each car as a custom-painted work of art.
Showing posts with label donations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donations. Show all posts
Monday, September 20, 2010
Thousands of toy cars yield thousands of kid smiles | Bangor Daily News
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Despite big donations, folk festival still $226,000 short of goal | Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — The American Folk Festival committee is $50,000 closer to — but still almost $226,000 short of — its 2010 fundraising goal of $960,000 three days before it starts.
“We’ve received a number of donations at various monetary levels, but we received one $40,000 contribution and another $10,000 gift within the last week from two donors who wish to remain anonymous,” said Heather McCarthy, the American Folk Festival’s executive director. “To date, the festival has raised $734,291.”
Still, McCarthy and other festival officials are aggressively seeking to close the funding gap as quickly as possible for the three-day extravaganza, which begins Friday centered on the Bangor Waterfront.
“We’re a little more comfortable with the money we’ve raised, but it doesn’t change the tone of our message to festival-goers because we still feel the sustainability of the event, long-term, depends on educating them on what they’re getting for little to relatively no cost.
“We have to educate people [about] the value the festival provides not just for attendees, but also the surrounding community.”
Click for the rest of the story by Andrew Neff in the Bangor Daily News.
Donations to the Folk Festival can be made by calling Mary Brann at (207) 974-3217 or by mailing them to American Folk Festival, 40 Harlow St., Bangor ME 04401.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
‘Maine Friends of Haiti’ is woman’s way of pitching in
Web site to link Maine resources
for Haiti aid uses woman’s media skills
Click on the link for the rest of this story by David Hench in the Portland Press Herald.
And here’s a link to the Maine Friends of Haiti website: http://www.mainefriendsofhaiti.org/mainefriendsofhaiti.org/Home.html
for Haiti aid uses woman’s media skills
Mary Doyle doesn’t have medical expertise or a lot of disposable income for charitable donations, but she wanted to do her part for the people of Haiti and the Mainers who are helping there.
She does have a knack for bringing people together and developing Web sites, so she tapped those skills to create the Maine Friends of Haiti Web site.
The site lists the large number of Maine groups working to help the people affected by the Caribbean nation’s devastating earthquake, which hit Jan. 12, killing more than 200,000 people and leaving 1.5 million more homeless.
“I tried to think of something that could be helpful,” Doyle said. “There was no Web site or group that was tying all the different efforts together.”
Click on the link for the rest of this story by David Hench in the Portland Press Herald.
And here’s a link to the Maine Friends of Haiti website: http://www.mainefriendsofhaiti.org/mainefriendsofhaiti.org/Home.html
Monday, March 1, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Local missionaries heading to Haiti to help children
PERU, Maine – Marilee Colpitts and Jamie Dennett had planned a missionary trip to Haiti long before the devastating earthquake on that island nation in January.
Their trip now will include their original goals, as well as helping some of the many children who have fled the capital of Port-au-Prince for Terrier Rouge, a city in the northwestern section of the country.
“We want to bring money for food and other things for the people who are fleeing Port-au-Prince," said Dennett, who is making her fourth trip to Haiti. "Here, in this country, people go to the state. There, they go to the pastors.”
She and Colpitts, who is making her second trip, are among 14 people, mostly from Maine, who are representing His Hands for Haiti, a nonprofit Christian group based in New Vineyard that finds sponsors for some of the thousands of children who do not have enough food or cannot go to school.
Click on the link to the rest of today’s story by Eileen M. Adams of the Lewiston Sun Journal.
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