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The Penquis Post
Sharing What's New with YOU! |
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Vote Journey House
The Penquis Journey House has been nominated to participate in the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation's annual grant-making initiative, Community Matters More. Through this initiative, people from all over the state vote on how to best allocate $100,000 the bank has pledged to give to 68 nonprofit Maine organizations.
To learn more and vote for Penquis Journey house click here.
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The 2013 Assets and Opportunities Scorecard is Now Available
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Promise Neighborhoods
Penquis has been selected to receive a 12 month  "Promise Neighborhoods" planning grant for 2013 in the amount of $348,100. The purpose of Promise Neighborhoods is to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in distressed communities. The goal of the grant is to build a complete continuum of cradle-to-career solutions to ensure children and youth in the greater Rockland area (RSU 13) have access to great schools and strong families and community supports.
Many Flags/One Community and Penquis, recently marked the beginning of their Promise Neighborhoods planning grant by calling together over 40 leaders in education, health care, workforce and economic development, and youth and social services. To read more about that meeting click here.
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Go Lynx! 
Late this summer Penquis submitted a proposal to the State to broker MaineCare Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) for Region 3 (Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties).
Early this year Penquis was notified that our proposal, GoMaineCare, received the highest score of the proposals submitted and the office of MaineCare Services awarded Penquis the winning bid! Penquis competed against three national, experienced for-profit companies and one national, experienced non-profit company in this very competitive process. Penquis was able to successfully compete due to the outstanding work that the Community Support Department and the Lynx staff do every day to serve the transportation needs of citizens in Region 3. |
Together We Can Do More.....
MaineStream Finance (MSF) received a $750 grant from Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation to help Maine's entrepreneurs start and expand small businesses. MSF offers one on one consulting, a Business 101 workshop and the Incubators Without Walls course. For more information call 973-3500.
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From MaineStream Finance, Heather Maslow, Jayne Giles; from Sam's Club, Chris Wilcox, Helen Anderson; MaineStream Finance's, Dana Ward |
The Penquis Journey House was on the receiving end of
employee dress down days. Staff from the Penquis Journey House received a check in the amount of $600 from Susan Dempsey Giguere, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Care & Comfort. These funds will help the young pregnant and parenting mothers and their children living at the Journey House.
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From left to right, Journey House staff, Denise Trafton, Wendy Pace, Maddy Furrier, and From Care & Comfort, Deb Webber and in front, CEO and Founder of Care & Comfort, Susan Dempsey Giguere. |
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Safe Havens Now Open
The Piscataquis Safe Havens Center is now open to serve parents and children in Piscataquis County. Safe Havens provides supervised visitation services, at no cost to either parent, in a comfortable, safe environment for families who have experienced domestic violence. This is an opportunity for a child to spend time with his or her non-residential parent.The Center also provides safe exchange for the transfer of children from one parent to another, before and after an unsupervised visit. The visitation room was beautifully renovated and furnished by the Piscataquis County Fund and the Maine Charity Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. Safe Havens is a collaborative partnership with Piscataquis County, Penquis,Womancare/Aegis Association, Rape Response Services, Piscataquis County Sheriff's Office; Office of the District Attorney, Prosecutorial District V, and Maine District Court. For more information call 1-800-215-4942 and ask for the Center's Director, Parvanah Withee. |
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Recent Penquis Publications
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March 2013
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Penquis Highlights!
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Penquis employees have participated in Dress Down days to support the Good Neighbor Fund. To date they have raised $5,675 to provide heating assistance to area families.
Consider hosting a dress down day at your place of work to help keep your neighbors warm .
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MaineStream Finance is now a US Small Business Administration (SBA) microenterprise lender - which boosts its available resources for small business loans up to $50,000 to Maine entrepreneurs.
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Giving Peace of Mind to Breast Cancer Patients
With a grant from the Susan B. Komen of Maine, Penquis Lynx and CancerCare of Maine have joined forces to provid e transportation services or mileage reimbursement for medical treatment of breast cancer including diagnostic services, chemotherapy, radiation, support groups and more. A recent Facebook post expressed appreciation. "I laid awake worrying about finances-you saved me." Her journey to treatment is 80 miles round trip.
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Certified Reverse Mortgage Counselor at MaineStream Finance
Dana Ward, a Loan Officer, HUD Certified Housing Counselor and NeighborWorks Foreclosure Intervention Counselor for MaineStream Finance, recently received HUD certification as a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage counselor (Reverse Mortgages).
This is for seniors who want to access the equity in their home without having to make monthly mortgage payments.
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A Parent's Thank You
It has been almost ten years since I started my two sons at Old Town Head Start and Child Care Center, operated by Penquis. It was the first time in my life that I had experienced the power of another person believing in me and encouraging my growth, not only as a parent but as an individual as well.
I came to Penquis as a single mother who had no educational foundation-I hadn't even finished High School. But here I was trying to parent two boys and maintain a job to support us. My childhood was one of abuse and neglect; therefore, I was not prepared to be a parent. I hadn't learned how to love or to be loved. Thankfully, Penquis offered parenting classes that equipped me to learn new techniques.
I also participated in the Family Partnership. This program helped me set goals and focus on the positive aspects of my life. I shared that I hadn't finished high school and the site manager, Jan Doucette, immediately shared information about the Adult Education Program. She shared various community resources that may be helpful to me along the way; but most of all, she believed in me, and encouraged me each step of the way.
Not only did I receive my Adult Diploma, I went on to get an Associate's Degree in Business from Eastern Maine Community College, then I transferred to University of Maine and obtained a Bachelor's in Child Development and Family Relations. This degree helped me to obtain my current position with the Department of Health and Human Services as a Caseworker. I am currently applying for my conditional social worker license so that I can work with families and help them rebuild their lives after adverse situations. It is amazing what a bit of encouragement can do. If it wasn't for Penquis, I'm not sure I would be where I am today. |
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