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Dear MaineShare,
It's spring in Maine! That means sunshine, daffodils and crocuses sprouting up, warmth, mud-- wait, wait, maybe it means ice-- or wait, maybe a snow storm. It could mean anything! Maine is often quite fickle in spring time, and we never know what weather to expect. But we relish every ray of sunshine, every bit of warmth, and turn our faces to feel the sun in the moments it appears.
A place that is wonderful to feel the sunshine is our new office-- Yes, we have moved! Maine Initiatives is now located at 57 Exchange Street, in the heart of Portland's Old Port. We are enjoying settling in as a team and look forward to welcoming community partners and friends to our new space soon! We also have refreshed our website and are excited to share it with our community! The original MaineShare website will soon transition to https://maineinitiatives.org/maineshare; we invite you to check it out!
And as always, read on below for all the great happenings at our organizations!
Gratefully,
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Amanda Scarpone (she/her/hers), Director of the MaineShare Program
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Exciting Updates and Events! | |
Sustainable Materials Management works for ME!! | |
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For over two decades, Maine Resource Recovery Association has brought you Maine’s only integrated conference for the Recycling & Solid Waste Management Industry. This year’s 29th annual conference will be held in Rockport, Maine at The Samoset Resort on April 29-30, 2024.
Overview of Our Conference:
- Informative Keynotes and Sessions
- SafetyWorks! Training
- DEP Training
- Exciting Belt Sander Races
- Awards Banquet
- Trivia Night and Cornhole
- Networking with Peers and Vendors
CLICK HERE for registration and more information!
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The Youth Activism Gathering (aka YAG) is about supporting youth as social change activists. Every year ROSC helps to organize and financially support a weekend-long YAG that offers workshops and activist skills as well as time and space for art-builds, music, talent-shows, and other beautiful and creative bonding opportunities! The YAG is a youth organized, youth centered gathering dedicated to providing a safe environment in which participants are given the space to explore issues and topics important to them, and to share tools that will help them be active organizers within their communities. The event is on a sliding scale, $0-$100/day. No one will be turned away for lack of funds! Come join us at Pilgrim Lodge in West Gardiner this August 15th-17th ! Learn more here!
Save the date for ROSC's GrassRoots Organizing Workshop (GROW)! Every year ROSC helps organize and financially support a weekend-long gathering that offers workshops focused on the fundamentals of community organizing. The goal of GROW is to create a culture of organizing as the way to create change and build grassroots power in the state. The theme every year rotates between Skills, Tactics, and Strategies. These gatherings also offer a lot of breathing room for reflection, art, and creativity. The dates this year are October 4th-6th at Pilgrim Lodge in West Gardiner, Maine! Learn more here!
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Maine Veterans for Peace has been very active over the past month. There are ongoing protests across the state. Members Doug Rawlings and Rob Shetterly took part in a series organized by Reversing Falls Sanctuary titled The Art of Protest: Politics and War. Member Don Kimball and Eric Herter continue to feed the unhoused most Saturdays, in a program we call Proudly We Serve, with funds donated by Maine VFP and other peace groups in the state. Members Peter Morgan and John Morris attended the Moms Demand Action group for their Advocacy Days at the Maine State House to encourage the passage of gun safety laws currently being considered. To keep up with MVP, visit their website!
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WERU Community Gathering, April 20, Bucksport | |
WERU will host its Community Gathering this spring at The Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, on Saturday, April 20, 12-3 PM, for fans and friends of WERU. You’ll find plenty of pizza and socializing in the lobby, and in the theater we’ll have entertainment from several talented WERU folks: GRAY (songs), Kristie Billings (poetry), Eddie Adelman (brief essays), Sara Trunzo (songs), and Gus La Casse and Pepin Mittelhauser (fiddle and guitar). The event is free and open to the public, so we hope to see you at The Alamo (85 Main Street, Bucksport) on April 20 for a celebration of community radio! | |
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On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will occur over North America, and a big swath of Maine is in the “path of totality.” It’s going to be a big deal no matter where you are in Maine, so Maine Audubon wants to make sure you’re prepared.
A total solar eclipse is where the moon passes between the sun and the earth, blocking the sun’s light from reaching a certain part of the earth for a brief time. Maine is in the path of the eclipse for the first time since 1963, and April 8 will be the last eclipse to pass over the state until 2079. Maine Audubon will host two Eclipse Watch parties, at Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden and at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth. Feel free to drop in between 3 and 4 pm to join our naturalists, birders, and educators as we observe wildlife at our sanctuaries. Our Nature Store has eclipse glasses and children’s books about eclipses too. Get the glasses while supplies last! Shop online for pick-up at Gilsland Farm.
The April 8 total solar eclipse may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many Mainers, and it will almost certainly be that for Maine’s wildlife. Let’s experience this incredible moment together. For more, visit Maine Audubon’s eclipse fact sheet at https://maineaudubon.org/news/preparing-for-the-april-eclipse-what-does-wildlife-do-in-the-dark/.
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Student Awards and Scholarships from HHRC | |
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The 2024 Awards & Scholarships Program, sponsored by the HHRC, is now open for submissions. Help us spread the word about this important HHRC tradition! If you know a student who might be interested, please let them know. The Lawrence Alan Spiegel Remembrance Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded annually to the high school senior who authors the prize-winning, original essay on the prompt: “Learning about the Holocaust affected my view of the world and it is important for others to learn about it too.” Criteria: originality of voice and viewpoint, structure, command of language and mechanics.
The Mathilde Schlossberger Outstanding Student of the Year Award recognizes an exceptional piece of original writing, fiction or non-fiction, or an unusually expressive piece of visual or performance art relating to human rights. The award was created by Florence and Kurt Strauss of Portland in memory of Kurt’s maternal grandmother, who was murdered at Theresienstadt. Click here for more information and applications!
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Every year, consumers with health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace (obtained through CoverMe.gov) must reconcile their advanced premium tax credits (APTC) against the actual amount of the premium tax credits for which they are eligible. The actual amount they are eligible for is based on their actual income for the year they received the premium tax credits. This is a critical step for consumers who receive Advance Premium Tax Credits, the subsidies that make health insurance more affordable. Consumers who underestimated their income may have to pay the government back for some or all the APTCs they received. Consumers who overestimated their income may receive additional credit(s), which they may receive as a tax refund.
To reconcile the APTCs, consumers must complete Form 8962 and attach it to their tax filings. To help consumers complete Form 8962, the Marketplace issues each consumer Form 1095-A, which shows the amount of the APTC received each month of the tax year when the tax household members had Marketplace coverage. If the consumer received health insurance from any other source during the tax year, the months of that coverage are not reflected on the form. The form also shows the monthly premium costs for the tax household, and the premium amount tax household members paid each month during the year.
Consumers for Affordable Health Care Helpline can help you find and/or receive the 1095-A form from CoverME.gov (Marketplace) but cannot assist with filling out tax forms.
If you need help finding the 1095-A form, please call our helpline at 1-800-965-7476.
More information can be found here: https://www.coverme.gov/1095-A
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How public policy has and hasn’t increased equity for Black Mainers | |
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Data shows public policies have improved the economy for Black Mainers — but more work remains. For Black History Month, MECEP reflected on the extent to which Maine has seen recent progress on reducing inequalities that impact Black Mainers. Click here to read the blog by MECEP Economic Policy Analyst James Myall.
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April is National Financial Literacy Month! | |
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April is National Financial Literacy month. New Ventures Maine can help you manage your money and make it go farther. Learn to budget, repair your credit, or create a savings plan with a free workshop, such as:
- Let's Talk about Credit (April 3)
- My Money Works online (starts April 10)
- Build Your Savings (April 10)
- My Money Works in person – Presque Isle (starts April 24)
Visit our website for information about these and other Manage Your Money workshops.
New Ventures Maine helps people gain skills, knowledge, and confidence to reach their business, career, and financial goals. See the full class schedule for more information and to choose a workshop that’s right for you!
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NRCM Legislative Priorities | |
Film Screenings with Sierra Club Maine | |
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Sierra Club Maine is honored to be hosting two film screenings of Covenant of the Salmon People (COTSP): April 17 at Brunswick High School’s Crooker Theater (tickets at bit.ly/BrunswickCOTSP) and April 18 at the Gracie Theatre in Bangor (tickets at bit.ly/BangorCOTSP). Doors open at 6pm and a panel discussion will follow the screening.
COTSP is a 60-minute documentary portrait of the Nez Perce Tribe as they continue to carry out their ancient promise to protect the Chinook salmon. The film explores the intertwined fate of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce), salmon, and the landscape from which both evolved. Learn more about the film at covenantofthesalmonpeople.com.
Presented by Sierra Club Maine, the Nez Perce Tribe, Wabanaki Alliance, the Penobscot Nation, Natural Resources Council of Maine, the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Downeast Salmon Federation.
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Save the Date: Raise for the Ruckus | |
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Hardy Girls invites you to Save the Date for their community fundraiser, Raise for the Ruckus. It will be held on May 21st at 5:30pm in Augusta. More details to come soon!
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This is just a small sampling of the critical work MaineShare's partner organizations do to build a better Maine. Please join us in supporting and learning from the great work of ALL of our partner organizations! | | | | |
