Happy Wednesday!
This is the Community Caring Collaborative Weekly Communiqué where we share announcements about trainings, meetings and other events, including announcements from our collaborative partners. Look for links to meeting minutes and agendas in the Meetings section, training registration forms and flyers in the Events section, and job postings and other items of interest in the Announcements section. Subscribe here to get the Communiqué. Make sure to add Community Caring Collaborative to your contacts at claurel@cccmaine.org. Gmail users, check for the Communiqué under the Promotions tab. This mailing goes out every Wednesday, so if you have announcements, please send them to Christine by 5 pm Monday to be included. Thanks!
Photo above: Time for School!
Announcements
Repair & Winterize My Home: It’s not too early to start preparing your home for winter, and if you’re a senior worried about making necessary repairs and improvements, this is the event for you. See more about this September 26th Thriving in Place informational session in the Event section below.
Washington County Higher Education Initiative 2017: The Maine Community Foundation & Machias Savings bank are offering to sponsor the opening of Next Gen college investing programs for Washington County children age 4-8 with a $100 deposit. Some of the account openers will also benefit from the $200 initial matching grant for opening an account. Please share this flyer about this wonderful opportunity for kids to start saving for college.
Grandfamilies Certificate Program: The University of Maine Center on Aging is pleased to offer an online certificate program for professionals and volunteers who work with grandfamily caregivers. The online Certificate in Grandfamilies Leadership program provides core education, technical support, and leadership development for professionals delivering grandfamily and kinship programming across the country. The course will begin on Monday, October 2, 2017 and close on December 22, 2017. Participants will complete the 9 modules over a 12-week period. Space is limited, and participation is on a first come first served basis, so please visit www.kinshipcert.org to register now.
Rent Smart Classes: Next Step and WHCA are partnering to offer a series of 4 renter education classes at the Machias Career Center on September 6, 13, 20, and 27 from 10-12. See this flyer for details and share with renters you know. Registration deadline is August 25th so don’t delay – sign up now.
MaineAEYC Public Policy and Advocacy Forum: Saturday, September 16th from 9 am-3 pm at Thomas College, Waterville, ME. See details and registration info in Event Section below. Registration deadline is August 30th.
Book Club: Next Step is teaming up with the Maine Humanities Council to offer a weekly book club for professionals working with domestic violence survivors, whether directly or indirectly, starting Thursday, September 14th. See this invitationand/or flyer for details. Registration deadline is September 7th so don’t delay – call or email Marcie at mdean@nextstepdvproject.org (207) 255-4934 to reserve your spot.
MRBN 2017 Conference: Save the dates of November 2nd and 3rd for the 2nd Biennial Conference of the Maine Resilience Building Network and the Bingham Program at Point Lookout Resort, Northport, Maine. See flyer for details.
Your announcement could go here: email the details to Christine by 5 pm Monday for inclusion in Wednesday’s Weekly Communiqué.
Updates
This is where we post updates on programs, initiatives and pending legislation.
Events
Now listed chronologically, so make sure to scroll down for items just added!
MaineAEYC Public Policy and Advocacy Forum: The Maine Association for the Education of Young 
Children invites you to the 2nd annual Public Policy and Advocacy Forum on Saturday, September 16th from 9 am — 3 pm at Thomas College, Waterville. Download this flyer for the program of events, session descriptions and registration information. Registration deadline is August 30th so don’t delay!
Register Now for the Maine Wisdom Summit: Jessica Maurer of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging The Maine Council on Aging invites you to attend the Maine Wisdom Summit – Cultivating the Opportunities of our Age on September 20th at the Augusta Civic Center, 9:00AM-3:30PM (registration 8:00-9:00AM). Click here to register now or go to the Summit page to view the agendaand session descriptions.
Affordable Housing Conference: Registration is now open for the
2017 Maine Affordable Housing Conference at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland on September 22nd. This event will provide a forum for housing partners to gather and share information about what is being done currently – and what more needs to be done – in the affordable housing arena to bridge the gap between housing needs and housing availability. There will be a mix of keynote speakers and workshops to choose from that will be targeted to all partner groups.
Repair & Winterize My Home: September 26th from 12 noon to 3 pm at a location in the Machias area 
tbd. If you’re a senior worried about making necessary repairs and improvements to your home before the winter, this is the event for you. Speakers from the USDA Rural Development, Washington Hancock Community Agency, Maine Seacoast Mission, and other organizations will talk about their repair and weatherization programs, answer your questions, and get you going to apply or enroll. This event is free. Download a flyer to share with friends, neighbors and clients. Register to attend here.
Needs & Offers
Need for Diapers: Family Futures Downeast is delighted to welcome 28 new families to our program this 
fall. Families are enrolled in classes at both the University of Maine at Machias and Washington County Community College. We have many new students with children under 2 years old, and are looking for donations of diapers: newborn size for the Family Center at UMM and sizes 2-4 at WCCC. Donations can be dropped off with Marsha Sloan at the Sunrise County Economic Council office at 7 Ames Way in Machias, or with Jessie McPhail at the Family Futures Downeast office at WCCC. For more information, call Marsha Sloan at 255-0983.
Need for Backpack Supplies: WHCA is in need of donations for this well-known backpack program for Hancock and Washington counties. Sharrie Curtis, the receptionist at WHCA’s Ellsworth office, is the contact person. Call Sharrie at 610-5908 or email receptionist-ELLS@whcacap.org if you would like to help.
Job Offer: The Maine Educational Opportunity Center is hiring an advisor for Washington and Hancock county. The role focuses on helping potential students address admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and more. For more information, see the official posting.
Child Care Volunteers Needed: Next Step is in need of volunteers to provide child care for moms attending meetings/appointments/court dates, etc. Please contact 255-4934 for more information if you can help.
Adult Family/Elder Decision Mediation: Elder Services Navigator, Lisa Suarez, has recently completed
training as a volunteer mediator specializing in adult family/elder decision mediation. “For many, this can provide an alternate dispute resolution to courts,” explains Lisa. “Mediators are neutral and the parties make their own decisions. We guide the process.” Contact Lisa at (207) 460-8129 or email lsuarez@whcacap.org for mediation services and to help elders connect to resources in order to live well at home in Washington County.
Send us your agency/community needs or offers, such as job recruiting or housing needs.
Favorite Resources
This is a new section of the Communique where we post links to helpful websites and videos. Send us your favorite links to share with other Communique readers.
Meetings
Work Group & Poverty Busters: Our next meeting will be on September 6th from 1-3:30 pm at the SCEC House. Read the revised Agenda and let us know if you plan to attend – thanks!
St Croix Community Connections: This is Poverty Buster’s sister group in Calais, organized by Christine Morris. This group meets monthly – new members welcome!
Photo courtesy of Jen Peters